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BABY-BEARING GRANDMOTHERS
1. Read the text about an Italian doctor. Nine sentences have been removed from the article. Severino Antinori is an Italian obstetrician. Dr Antinori’s claim to fame is not that he is simply one of the many doctors who provide artificial fertilisation, but that he provides such artificial fertilisation for women who are long past normal child-bearing age. For example, in 1992, a 61-year-old widow from Palermo, Sicily, had a baby. Dr Antinori had planted in her an egg fertilised with her husband’s sperm. 1. ___________________________________________________________________ After 32 years of childless marriage, another Sicilian housewife, Giuseppina Maganuca, had a baby planted by Antinori at the age of 53. She said: “My baby is an angel, and the doctor is a saint... “Another woman, Anita Blokziel, aged 56, a former circus acrobat from Amsterdam, gave birth to a baby girl. Of Antinori, she says: “The doctor has made me the happiest of women. 2. ___________________________________________________________________ The Catholic church is certain that Dr Antinori is not a performer of miracles. 3. ___________________________________________________________________ The head of the church’s bio-ethical commission has condemned his work as “horrifying”. 4. ___________________________________________________________________ The early work in this field was done by Simon Fishel. He developed a technique for injecting a single sperm into the female egg, the ovum. 5. ___________________________________________________________________ According to Dr Fishel, “the only real problem that hasn’t been solved in this area is how old the woman can be, and how safe the treatment is. 6. ___________________________________________________________________ Does this mean that women may continue to have children into their seventies and eighties, that the power-women of today may now put off having a family until 2040? It seems like it. 7. ___________________________________________________________________ It seems that about 30,000 women worldwide are being offered these hi-tech breeding systems. They spend about $400 million a year. 8. ___________________________________________________________________ The good doctor hit the headlines in Britain after it got into the newspapers that, as a result of his efforts, an unnamed Englishwoman of 55 was expecting twins in December. The news was greeted with scorn and derision in the newspapers, so much so that Dr Antinori has been consulting a London-based libel lawyer. 9. ___________________________________________________________________
2. Choose the most suitable sentence from the list A – J for each part (1 – 9) of the article. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
A. Nobody has that information.
B. It looks as if the granny-mummy, or, as the Italians call them, le mamme-nonne, is going to be in the headlines for a few months to come.
C. The whole process should be treated with the contempt it deserves.
D. In its opinion, he is far more likely to be going to hell than heaven.
E. After taxes and overheads, Dr Antinori’s clinic makes $600,000 a year clear profit.
F. This technique has been combined with a hormone treatment which rejuvenates the baby-carrying parts of older women.
G. He has given me a miracle.
H. The Catholic press considers that he is creating “prefabricated orphans” in that the parents will die before their children have grown up or even left school.
I. According to Dr Antinori, he had been contacted by a representative of CNN chairman Ted Turner, who wanted to know if the saintly doctor would treat his wife, the 55-year-old Jane Fonda.
J. Her husband had died in 1985, but his sperm had been frozen before his death.
UNIT 3 PEOPLE AND THEIR PERSONALITIES
Level A 2
TASTES DIFFER
1. Read information about these people.
2. Below are some articles from 8 different magazines. Choose one magazine for each person that best matches their interests. Choose "None" if there isn't a match. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. MARIA MARIA She conquered the world of opera with the most extraordinary voice of the century – and died miserable and alone. Michael Tonner looks at Maria Callas, the woman behind the opera singer.
BUSINESS IN PARIS John Felbrick goes to Paris to see what facilities it offers for business people planning meetings.
a. Sarah b. Jane c. Peter d. Paul e. Mary f. None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. DON’T GO into the hills unprepared. If you're a hill walker, we have advice for you on what to take and what to do if something goes wrong.
WE SHOW pictures of Linda Evangelista, the supermodel from Toronto, wearing next season's clothes for the woman with unlimited money.
a. Sarah b. Jane c. Peter d. Paul e. Mary f. None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. HERE AND THERE Our guide to what is happening in London, and this month we'll also tell you what's on in Paris, Rome, and Madrid.
EXPLORE AFRICA Last year Jane Merton joined a trip across Africa, exploring the most cut-of parts of the continent. Read what she has to say.
a. Sarah b. Jane c. Peter d. Paul e. Mary f. None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. FESTIVALS This is the season for street festivals. We've travelled to three of the big ones in South America and bring you pictures and information.
HOW I GOT THERE Georgina Fay tells us how she became a famous clothes designer overnight.
a. Sarah b. Jane c. Peter d. Paul e. Mary f. None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. READ about NEIL ASHDOWN's recent walk along one of Britain's oldest paths. It passes through some of the most beautiful hill country.
ENTER our competition and win a week for two in THAILAND.
a. Sarah b. Jane c. Peter d. Paul e. Mary f. None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. IN THE FREEZER We talk to the two men who have just completed a walk across the Antartic.
TIGHTEN THAT BELT Well-known fashion designer, Virginia McBride, who now lives in Paris, tells us how to make our old clothes look fashionable.
a. Sarah b. Jane c. Peter d. Paul e. Mary f. None -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. WAKE UP THE CHILDREN Penelope Fine's well-known children's stories are going to be on Sunday morning Children's TV. We have a wonderful talk with this famous author.
FLATLANDS It may not look like promising walking country – it hardly rises above sea level, but we can show you some amazing walks.
a. Sarah b. Jane c. Peter d. Paul e. Mary f. None --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. MY INTERVIEW WITH PAVAROTTI David Beech recollects the famous singer’s tour to the Far East.
NEW LIGHT Julian Smith talks to the granddaughter of one of the men who reached the North Pole for the first time in 1909. She tells us about his interesting life.
a. Sarah b. Jane c. Peter d. Paul e. Mary f. None ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALL ABOUT STEVE
1. Read the article.
It was an unforgettable weekend for actress, Sandra Bullock. On Saturday she collected the Golden Raspberry Award for the worst actress, and the next day, she got the Oscar award for the role in football drama, The Blind Side. The Razzie awards are held in Los Angeles to celebrate the worst films of the year. The last big star to get the award was Halle Berry in 2005. Bullock arrived with hundreds of copies of the DVD, All about Steve, “the worst film of the year” to give to the audience. She joked with the audience, “I will show up next year if you promise to watch the movie and really consider if it was truly the worst performance. If you’re willing to watch, I’ll come back next year and give back the Razzie”. In All about Steve, Bullock plays a character called Mary, who is a shy crossword-writer. The “terrible” plot includes her joining a protest group, getting hit by a tornado, falling down a mine and meeting a deaf girl at the bottom of it. The leading actor in All about Steve, Bradley Cooper, also won an award. Together with Bullock they were voted the worst screen couple. The Razzies was started by American, John J.B. Wilson, in 1981. He was involved in the media and entertainment industry. Wilson used to have dinner parties at his house in Los Angeles on the night of the Academy Awards. One year, after watching a very bad film win an award, he decided to ask his dinner party guests to vote for the worst films of the year, and this began to be a formal, annual event. Now, anyone can register on the website, to vote for award winners. For the 29th Golden Raspberry Awards in 2009, about 650 journalists, cinema fans, and people in the film industry voted. They came from 45 states in the United States and 19 other countries. Major TV companies are there to film the event, and it is now watched by millions all over the world.
2. Choose the correct answer. 1. Why did Sandra Bullock win a Razzie? a. Because she starred in The Blind Side. b. Because All about Steve was voted the best film. c. Because she starred in the worst film. d. Because she starred in the best film.
2. What did Sandra Bullock think of the audience’s vote at the Razzies? a. She knew they had watched the film b. She didn’t think they had watched the film. c. She didn’t think they knew anything about films. d. She knew they all wanted a DVD of the film.
3. What makes the plot “terrible”? a. It’s full of unbelievable, dramatic events. b. It’s boring and dull. c. It’s about football. d. It’s about a shy girl.
4. What made John J.B. Wilson start the Razzies? a. He was tired of watching the Oscar Awards. b. He couldn’t believe that a bad film had been chosen for a “best film” award. c. He didn’t know what to do with his guests after dinner. d. He wanted to start a formal awards ceremony of his own.
5. Which is NOT true? a. You can only vote for a Razzie award winner if you go to a special dinner party. b. Even famous film stars can win Razzies. c. Sandra Bullock didn’t mind winning a Razzie. d. The Razzie’s isn’t a recent award ceremony.
FACEBOOK CREATOR IS TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR
1. Read the text about Mark Zuckerberg. Five sentences have been removed from the article.
3. ____________________________________________________. Readers voting in the online poll chose the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange as the winner. 4. __________________________________________. Time’s editor Richard Stengel explained they chose Zuckerberg because he was a more positive figure than Assange and because he changed “how we all live our lives in ways that are innovative and even optimistic”. He wrote on Time’s website: "There is an erosion of trust in authority, a decentralizing of power and at the same time, perhaps, a greater faith in one another…" he said. Mr Stengel continued: “Zuckerberg sees the world as filled with potential friends.” 5. ________________________________________________.
2. Choose the most suitable sentence from the list A – F for each part (1 – 5) of the text. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
A. We have entered the Facebook age, and Mark Zuckerberg is the man who brought us here.
B. I'm happy to be a part of that.
C. He won the award for connecting 12 percent of the planet on his social networking site.
D. Perhaps only the Facebook creator himself knows how much more he can do.
E. However, Time panelists chose Mark Zuckerberg.
F. It was uncertain for a while who would win Time’s annual honour.
Level B 1 THE LIFE AND WORK OF J. TOLKIEN
1. Read the article. A. _____________________________ Many authors become masters of a particular genre of fiction. But very few can claim to have had such an effect that they virtually have created the genre for themselves. One such author is J. R. R. Tolkien. From his prolific imagination was created not only Middle Earth; the stage for his giant fantasy The Lord of the Rings, but also a whole genre of fantasy fiction which has since become known as "sword and sorcery".
B. ______________________________ Before Tolkien's work was published, fantasy was set in what was very near to the present for the authors. Also, the genre was very close to horror, and authors such as Lovell and Bram Stoker moved easily between the two. The great American writer Edgar Allen Poe had recently brought out a work of what we would today call horror stories, but he had entitled it Tales of Mystery and Imagination, suggesting that he thought of it as fantasy.
C. ______________________________ Tolkien's distinctive contribution was to create a pseudo-medieval world and to populate it with wise wizards, bold knights, and a massive cast of other characters, including dwarfs, elves, and most of the other creatures of our folk memory. He also created his own contribution, the hobbit. Hobbits were small people, who had distinctive hairy feet. They were characterised by honest common sense and rather complex social lives. In all his works, it is evidently the hobbits with whom Tolkien sympathises the most.
D. ______________________________ What made Tolkien's work so compelling was that it was a perfectly realised work of fantasy. Every detail in his stories rings true. This is because Tolkien spent so much time working and thinking about Middle Earth that the actual part which we have on paper is only a fraction of his research. His later books show clearly to what extent he had created this entire world, complete with detailed maps and even the languages of the major protagonists.
E. _____________________________ However, although Middle Earth is a towering work of fantasy, it has roots in reality. The Middle Earth of Tolkien is close to his own native Oxfordshire, both in the landscape of the Shire, and above all in the reactions and behaviour of its characters. The ethos is that of pre-war England, possibly because Tolkien could conceive of no other mode of behaviour, but more probably because his book can be read on many levels, and in only the most basic of the levels is the great struggle between light and darkness completely.
F. ______________________________ It must be remembered that Tolkien was writing in a time when one Great War had just finished, and another was about to begin. In his book, he stresses the bravery, and endurance of the small people without whom victory is impossible. This was the lesson that Tolkien felt had to be learned from the horrors of the Great War – the decisions which shape the destiny of nations are taken by an elite group, but they are implemented by the common people of the country.
G. ______________________________ Though his book brought him world-wide fame, Tolkien continued to live modestly at Oxford University, where he worked. He was a close friend of another great writer of his day, C.S. Lewis, who also taught there. However, while Lewis was more relaxed about his fame, Tolkien never really got used to it, and he was quite embarrassed by the admiration of the many tourists who came to see him.
2. Match these chapter headings 1 – 8 with the appropriate parts of the article, marked A – G. You do not need one of the chapter headings. 1. How to make fantasy seem real. _______ 5. A quiet man. _______ 2. A new best-seller. _______ 6. The real Middle Earth. _______ 3. Fantasy before Tolkien. _______ 7. A new fantasy creature. _______ 4. The Master of Middle Earth. _______ 8. The experience of war. _______
Date: 2015-04-20; view: 2202
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Sarah is a keen walker. She lives in an area which is very flat and when she goes on holiday she likes to walk in the hills. She is looking for new places to go.
Jane is keen on music. She likes reading about the personal life of famous people to find out what they are really like.
Peter is going to France next week on business and has a free weekend which he plans to spend in Paris. He would like to find out what is happening there for fun and entertainment.
Paul likes visiting other countries. He is also interested in history and likes reading about famous explorers from the past.
Mary likes clothes but hasn't got much money so she is looking for ways of dressing smartly without spending too much.
Time magazine has named Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, as and their Person of the Year 2010. Zuckerberg, 26, is the second-youngest winner of the accolade. 1. ___________________. This is an impressive statistic considering the site has yet to make any impression in China. Mr Zuckerberg said on Wednesday, naturally on his Facebook page: "Being named as Time Person of the Year is a real honor and recognition of how our little team is building something that hundreds of millions of people want to use to make the world more open and connected. 2. __________________________." The young entrepreneur owns a quarter of the shares of Facebook and is a multi-billionaire.