TWO GIANT PANDAS ARRIVE IN SCOTLAND

1. Read this news article about the UK’s newest guests. Five sentences have been removed from the article.

Tian Tian and Yang Guang arrived at Edinburgh Airport at 1pm on a specially-chartered non-stop flight from China. The eight-year-old breeding pair are destined for Edinburgh Zoo, which will be their new home for the next 10 years.

1._________________________________________________. "I am delighted to confirm that the FedEx Panda Express has safely touched down at Edinburgh International Airport," said Captain Paul Cassell.

2.___________________________________________________________________­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­. Although every flight is unique, this flight has been particularly special – carrying such rare animals made the journey very exciting for all of us."

They will now have two weeks to settle into their new enclosure before going on display to the public.

3.___________________________________________________________________. The Scottish Government and tourism officials hope the animals' presence will boost the economy and visitor numbers to the country.

4. ___________________________________________________________________. First Minister Alex Salmond is in China at the moment.

Online footage of the two animals, from four hidden "panda-cams" in their enclosures, is expected to attract viewers from around the world.

5. ___________________________________________________________________. The rest of the plant is to be imported from Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

2. Choose from the sentences A – G the one which fits each gap (1 –5). There is one extra sentence you do not need to use.

A. It is hoped that the pandas, the first to live in the UK for 17 years, will eventually give birth to cubs.

B. Four pilots with "extensive experience" in transporting some of the world's most precious cargo, including white rhinos and penguins, were also on the flight.

C. Edinburgh Zoo is to grow about 15% of the bamboo needed to feed the giant pandas.

D. Tian Tian and Yang Guang – the names translate as Sweetie and Sunshine – are the first giant pandas to live in the UK for 17 years, in what is seen as a reinstatement of "panda diplomacy".

E. Edinburgh Zoo is to grow about 15% of the bamboo needed to feed the giant pandas.

F. It was an absolute privilege and honor to fly Tian Tian and Yang Guang, and to be part of this significant moment to bring the pandas to their new home in the UK.

G. Scottish ministers also said the loan of the pandas symbolises a "growing friendship" between Scotland and China.

Level B 1

LET’S MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

1. Read a magazine article about various local campaigns.

A. Homes For All

Organisations that help the homeless are warning that people will face even greater hardship this winter unless urgent action is taken to offer shelter to those without a home. This warning follows publication of figures showing an increase in the number of homeless people. Susan Evans of the organisation 'Homes for All' said: "With a shortage of accommodation, more people than ever before – young and old – are having to sleep rough. A cold winter is predicted this year which means that these people will have to put up with sub-zero temperatures. Action must be taken urgently to offer these people shelter." A nationwide demonstration to raise awareness of the problem will take place this weekend. Supporters welcome.

B. Village Protest

Residents of local village, Shilden, are preparing for a night of protest to save their village from Government planners. Proposals for a new motorway to be built that will run within 2 kilometres of Shilden have caused uproar amongst residents. They claim that they were given insufficient time to respond to the proposal. Tony Fellows, spokesperson for the 'Village Protest' campaign explains: "The planned route cuts across some of the most picturesque countryside in the region. Shilden welcomes thousands of tourists each year. Many of the shopkeepers depend on this trade and would almost certainly face ruin if tourists were put off coming by the damage this road is likely to cause". The all-night protest will take place in the fields where the building work is likely to begin.

C. New Youth Club

Youngsters in the city-centre will lose out on a much-loved project if substantial funds are not found this year. The 'New Youth Club', which is open to young people from the ages of 10 to 17, is being threatened with closure by Health and Safety officials who claim the building is unsafe. The club, built 30 years ago, was badly damaged by heavy storms last year and city engineers estimate that one hundred thousand pounds is needed to repair structural damage. With only limited funds at their disposal, managers fear the club will have to close. Youngsters from the club have organised an Open Day on Tuesday in an effort to raise some of the money needed to enable the repairs to be undertaken. "This alone won't be enough, however" warned Adam Ross, Youth Leader.

D. Save Lea Valley

A rare species of butterfly and many native plants face extinction if the 'Lea Valley office complex' project goes ahead. This is the claim made by local environmentalists involved in the 'Save Lea Valley' campaign. They argue that the proposed development, to be built on the site of woodland dating back hundreds of years, will rob the country of several rare species of wildlife. 'Local people would be horrified if they knew of the consequences of this project,' claimed environmentalist Ian Wilson yesterday. "We need to instigate a local campaign to alert everyone to the dangers. We are starting by writing letters to everyone in the area asking for their support. The office complex developers must not be allowed to do this."

2. Choose which section (A, B, C or D) each statement (1 – 15) refers to.

CITIES

1. Read the article.

Some cities are located by chance. A wagon breaks down, the driver spends some time in repairs, finds that he is in a congenial spot, and settles down. Later another person builds a house near his, and later someone adds an inn. Someone else starts selling farm produce there. Soon there is a little market, which grows to a town, and later to a city.

Other places were destined by nature to become cities. London, for example, is on what is called the head of navigation – the point where it becomes too difficult for ocean-going ships to continue upriver, and must transfer their cargoes. As with London, the head of navigation is also the point where the river can be conveniently bridged. In fact, the location of a bridge is often the reason for the birth of a town – as Cambridge or Weybridge in England show. Again, a good harbour will generally lead to a city growing up about it. New York and San Francisco began life as ports, as did Cape Town in South Africa.

Some places were created mainly for military purposes, such as Milan, and the host of English cities finishing with – cester, which is derived from castra which means camp in Latin. Chester itself, created to guard the Welsh border is a very good example. Other such military bases are Manchester, Doncaster, and of course, Newcastle.

A few cites are not created by accident, but by intention. This was the case with Milton Keynes in England, but the most famous examples of such cities are capitals. Brasilia, Canberra and Washington are capitals created in modern times, but even their greatest admirers will admit that they lack a certain character. It is no co-incidence that there are famous pop songs about New York, ("New York, New York") Chicago ("My kind of Town") San Francisco (“Going to San Francisco") and many other US cities, but none about the nation's capital. On the other hand any Londoner can give you at least three songs about the place.

2. Choose the correct answer.

1. This article is about

a. why capital cities are created.

b. places where cities might begin.

c. urban life.

d. why some city sites are chosen.

2. London owes its origin to

a. a river.

b. a bridge.

c. an army camp.

d. because ships could sail there.

3. The writer feels that

a. cities are created by chance.

b. planned cities lack soul.

c. that no-one can tell why a city will develop.

d. some cities were planned by generals.

4. Which is NOT given as a reason for a new city?

a. Wars.

b. Random events.

c. Trade.

d. Politics.

5. "Congenial" in the first paragraph means

a. on the coast.

b. on a river.

c. near an army camp.

d. none of these.

6. The article suggests that English cities of military origin

a. can be found from their locations.

b. can be found from their names.

c. are more common than other cities.

d. always end with end with -cester.

7. There are no songs about Washington because

a. the city has little character.

b. it is too modern.

c. it is the national capital.

d. songwriters don't like politics.

8. This article is mainly about

a. geography.

b. history.

c. music.

d. rivers.

THE SHRINKING LAKE

1. Read about this disappearing lake in central Africa. Seven sentences have been removed from the article.

Rikki Mbaza has a very English name but his part of central Africa is suffering from a problem that few in England would have to put up with: a lack of rain so acute that Rikki's livelihood is literally evaporating away.

"I would love to have the English weather here in Chad. Then the lake would not go away."

Rikki Mbaza lives in the town of Bol near the shores of Lake Chad, a lake that has shrunk by 90% in the last 40 years.

1. ___________________________________________________________________.

"I am a fisherman. For me, it is like watching my life draining away every day. The fishing is getting worse and worse in the lake. They are getting smaller and I think the fish breeding has been disrupted by the reduction in area and in depth." Lake Chad is only a metre deep in most places.

Rikki struggles now to provide enough food and income for his wife Achta and their four children. Achta has had to take up pottery in her spare time in order to try and boost the amount of money coming into the household every month.

"Our rent doesn't go down with the level of the lake unfortunately," Mbaza complains. "We still have six mouths to feed but I need assistance from the government.

2. __________________________________________________________________."

While one can understand Rikki Mbaza's frustration with his government, his accusatory tone is perhaps a little unfair.

3. ___________________________________________________________________.

Angela Muscovite at the Center For African Politics at UCLA sees little reason for optimism in the case of the shrinking lake in the African heartland.

4.“__________________________________________________________________. This is a body of water that, in 1960 was over 25,000 km2 in size – now it's less than 10% of that."

"It has been so over-exploited and it is an issue the whole international community, obviously more so those governments in Africa, need to co-operate on to find a resolution. And that isn't going to happen any time soon.

5. __________________________________________________________________. It's sad but that's how I see things panning out."

The guilty parties, as so often in these cases, blame each other for the problems that now beset the lake. Charlie Vaughan, who teaches Environmental Science at Cambridge University in Britain, explains why the lake is going the way of the Dodo. 6.”__________________________________________________________________. Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon all lay claim to the waters of this lake and you only need a five metre shoreline to be able to extract water from it. The whole area has been a target for massive irrigation schemes over the last couple of decades with each country's agricultural ministry blaming the other three for the problems.

7.___________________________________________________________________. This is a dry area."

None of this gesturing and buck-passing will help Rikki, Achta and their four children in the near future. "I am learning how to fix cars. I don't think cars will be disappearing soon and will certainly last longer than this lake will," muses the glum-looking fisherman. "There won't be any more fishermen in this area in ten years." And with that, he says he has to go and study how to remove and repair brake pads.

2. Choose from the sentences A – H the one which fits each gap (1 – 7). There is one extra sentence you do not need to use.

A. The water is moving further and further away. We believe desertification has contributed most to the demise of Lake Chad.

B. The main culprit is geography funnily enough.

C. A lack of rain is only one of many culprits being blamed for this emerging disaster.

D. They have left me to fend for myself in a desperate situation.

E. In an area with plentiful rainfall, it wouldn't be so much of a problem.

F. The Chad government has often seemed like a powerless, rudderless boat caught in the storm of international politics.

G. By the time it does, they'll be arguing over a puddle in the middle of the desert.

H. The story of Chad Lake is a modern day environmental tragedy.

Level B 2

ANIMALS AND WILDLIFE

1. Read five advertisements.

2. Choose which section (A, B, C or D) each question (1 – 11) refers to.

Date: 2015-04-20; view: 2244