Test 1

PAPER 1

READING (1 hour)
Part 1

You are going to read a newspaper article about a musical family . For questions 1-8, choose the answer (A , S, Cor 0) which you think fits best according to the text. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Meet the Amazing Watkins Family

The sons are composers and prize-winning musicians, while Dad makes the instruments. Matthew Rye reports.
Whole families of musicians are not exac t ly rar e. However , it is unusual to come ac ross one that includes not o nly writers and perf ormers
of mu si c, but also an in strument maker .

When So ut h Wales schoolteachers John

and Hetty Watkins needed t o get their t en-year-

line 17

old son, Paul , a ce llo to suit his bloss omin g t alents , th ey baulked at th e costs involved. 'We had a look at va rio us deal ers and it was obvious it was going to be very expens ive ,' John says . 'So I wonder ed if I could actually make one. I dis cover ed th at the Welsh Scho ol of Instrument Making was not far from wh ere I lived, a nd I wen t alon g for eve ning classes on ce a week for ab out three ye ars .' 'After probably three o r four goes with violins and violas , he had a crac k at his first cello,' Paul , no w 28, adds . 'It turned out really well. He made me another on e a bit later, wh en he 'd go t th e han g 01 it. And th at's t he o ne I used right up until a few months ago.' John has since retired as a teacher to work as a full-tim e cra fts ma n, a nd makes up to a dozen violins a year - se lling o ne to the es teemed Ame rican playe r Jaime Laredo was 'the icing o n the cake' . Bot h Pa ul and his younger brother, Huw , were encouraged t o play mus ic from an early age. Th e piano came first: 'As soon as 1was big enoug h to cl imb up and bang the keys, that's what I did ,' Paul rem embers . But it wasn't lon g befor e th e ce llo beckoned . 'My folk s were reall y quite keen for me to take up t he violin, because Dad , wh o playe d the viol a , used to play chambe r music with his mates and th ey neede d another violin t o mak e up a st ring t rio. I learn ed it for a bo ut s ix weeks but didn't take to it. But I really to ok to th e character who played th e cello in Dad 's group. I thought he was a very cool guy wh en I wa s s ix o r seven. So he said he'd give me some les son s , and t ha t really star ted it a ll off. Later, th ey suggested

th at my bro th er play th e violin to o, but he would ha ve non e of it.' 'My pare nts were both s uppor tive and relaxed,' Huw says. 'I don 't think I would have res ponded very we ll to being pushed . And, rather th an feeling threatene d by Paul's s uccess, I found th at I had s omething to aspire to .' Now 22, he is beginning to make his own mark as a piani st and com po se r. Meanwhile , John Watkins ' ce llo has done his elde r son proud. With it , Pa ul won th e string final of th e BBe Young Musician of the Year competition. Th en, at th e re ma r kably yout hful age of 20, he wa s appointed princi pal cellist of th e BBC Symphony Orchestra , a positio n he held , still pla yin g his father's instrument, until last year. Now, however, he has ac qu ire d a Fran cesc o Rugeri ce llo, o n loan from th e Royal Academy of Musi c. 'Dad' s not said anything about me moving on , though rec ently he had th e chance to run a bow across th e st rings of each in turn an d had to ad mit that my new on e is quite nice! I think th e o nly thing Dad 's doesn't ha ve - and may acquire afte r about 50-100 years - is the power to project right to th e ba ck of larg e concert halls. It will get ric her wit h age, like my Rugeri , which is a lre ady 304 years old .' Soo n he will be seen on t elevision playing th e Ruge ri as the so lois t in Elgar 's Cello Concerto, which form s th e heart of th e second programm e in th e new seri es , Masterw orks. 'The well-known perf orman ce histo ry doesn't affect the way I play the work,' he says. 'I'm always going to do it my way.' But Paul won' t be a ble to wat ch him self on television - th e same night he is playin g at th e Che lte nham Festival. Nor will Huw, wh ose String Quartet is receivin g its London premi ere at th e Wigmore Hall th e sa me eve ning. John and Hetty will have to be diplomatic - and ene rge tic - if th ey ar e to keep tr ack of all th eir s ons' musical ac tivities over th e coming weeks.

Paper 1 Reading

Why did John Watkins decide to make a cello? A B He wanted to encourage his son Paul to take up the instrument. He was keen to do a course at the nearby school. He felt that dealers were giving him false information. He wanted to avo id having to pay for one.

D 2

What is meant by 'crack' in line 177 A B attempt plan shock period

e
D

What do we learn in the third paragraph about the instruments John has made? A B D He considers the one used by Jaime Laredo to be the best. He is particularly pleased about what happened to one of them. His violins have turned out to be better than his cellos. It took him longer to learn how to make cellos than violins.

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4

Paul first became interested in playing the cello because A B he admired someone his father played music with. he wanted to play in his father's group. he was not very good at playing the piano. he did not want to do what his parents wanted.

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D 5

What do we learn about Huw's musical development? A B His parents' attitude has played little part in it. It was slow because he lacked determination. His brother's achievements gave him an aim. He wanted it to be different from his brother's.

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What does Paul say about the Rugeri cello? A B D His father's reaction to it worried him. The cello his father made may become as good as it. It has qualities that he had not expected. He was not keen to tell his father that he was using it.

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What does Paul say about his performance of Elgar's Cello Concerto? A B It is less traditional than other performances he has given. Some viewers are likely to have a low opinion of It. He considers it to be one of his best performances. It is typical of his approach to every1hing he plays.

D 8

What will require some effort from John and Hetty Watkins? A B preventing their sons from taking on too much work being aware of every1hing their sons are involved in reminding their sons what they have arranged to do advising their sons on what they should do next
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Test 1
Part 2
You a re going to read a n a rticle a bout a bird called the kingfisher . Seve n sente nces have be e n re moved from the article. Choose from the sente nce s A-H the one which fits each gap (9-15). The re is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. Mark you r answers on the separate answer sheet.

The kingfisher
Wildlife photographer Charlie Jam es is an expert on the kingfisher: a beautiful blue-green bird that lives near streams and rivers, fe eding on fis h.
Old trees over ha ng the stream, hal f shading shallow water. Soft greens, mud browns and the man y different yellows of sunlight are the main colou rs, as soft as the sounds of water in the breeze. Th e bird cut s like a laser throu gh the scene, straight and fast, a slice of light a nd motion so striking you almost feel it. It has gone in a split seco nd, but a trace of the image lingers, its power out of pro po rt ion to its size. Cha rlie James fell in love with kingfishers at an I After a ll, it is the stuff ea rly age. I 9 I of legend. Greek myth makes the kingfisher a moon goddess who turn ed into a bird . Anoth er tale tells how the kingfisher flew so high that its upper body took on the blue of the sky, while its underp arts were scorched by the sun. 10 I I For despite the many different blues that appe a r in their coats, kingfishers have no blue pigment at all in their feathers. Rather, the structure of their upper feath ers scatte rs light and stro ngly reflects blue. 11 I I It's small wonde r that some wildlife phot ographers get so enthusiastic about them. Co uple the colours with the fact th at kingfishers, th ou gh shy of direct hum an ap proac h, ca n be easy to watch from a hideout, and you have a recipe for a lifelong passion . Cha rlie James's first hideout was an old blan ket which he put over his head while he waited near a kingfisher's favourite spot. I 12 I I But it took ano ther four years, he reckon s, before he got his first decent picture. In the meant ime, the European kingfisher had begun to dominate his life. He spent all the time he co uld by a kingfisher-rich wood land stream. T he trou ble was, school cut the time available to be with the birds. So he missed lessons, becomin g what he describe s as an 'academic failure'. I 13 I I At 16, he was hired as an adviso r for a nature magazine. Work as a n assistant to the ed ito r followed, then a gradual move to life as a freelance wildlife film camerama n. What he'd really like to do now is make the ult imate kingfisher film. I 14 I I 'I'm attracted to the simple approach . I like to photograph parts of kin gfisher wings ...' Th e sentence trails off to nothing. He's th inking of th ose colours of the bird he's spent mor e than ha lf his life gett ing close to, yet I But, which still excites interest. I 15 I as Cha rlie knows, there's so much mor e to his relati on sh ip with the kingfisher than his work ca n ever show.

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Paper 1 Reading

A Thi s is why a kingfishe r may appea r to chan ge from bri ght blue to rich emerald green with o nly a slight chan ge in the angle at which light falls on it.
B But his interest in this, th e world's most widespread kingfisher and the o nly memb er of its cosmo politan famil y to breed in Europe, was getting noti ced . C A sure sign of his depth of feeling fo r this litt le bird is his inability to identify just what it is that dra ws him to it.
0

E The bird carne back within minutes and sat only a metr e away.
F The photographs succeed in communicatin g something of his feelings.

G ' No speech, ju st beautifu l images which say it all,' he says.

H There is some scientific truth in that sto ry.

The movement sends a highly visible signa l to rivals, both males and females, as it defend s its stretch of water against neighbours.

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Test 1

Part 3
You are going to read a magazine article in which various people talk about their jobs. For questions 16-30, choose from the people (A- D). The people may be chosen more than once. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Which person says their job involves

large amounts of paperwork? training high-level staff in their area of work? taking measures to protect public safety? acce pti ng certa in financial limitations? encouraging visito r participation? listening to disagreements? doi ng co nsiderable background research? introducing problems that requ ire solutio ns? balancing supply and demand? producing advertising literat ure? organising trips desig ned to increase people's awareness? constant updat ing of the ir own materials? corresponding with the public? working in an area that has personal meaning fo r them? working with a team of co lleagues?

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Paper 1 Read ing

My line of work
Four people talk about their jobs.
I live by th e coast and work from hom e. Thi s in vol ves respon d ing to t eleph on e enq uir ies, pr o du cing ed ucat io na l resources and set ting
up trainin g courses. Occasion all y, I go into o ur

I'm respon sibl e f or putting t empor ary exhi bitionst ogether. This inclu des pl anning and desig ning t he exhib it io n and pr om oting it. I have t o read up abo ut th e subject of th e exhibition beforeh an d and th en t alk t o im portant peopl e in th e area so t hat I can esta blish th e main t hemes and aims of th e exhibit io n, and pl an w hat objects and p ict ur es sho uld be di splayed. I have to make sure th e publi c can und erstand th e thinkin g behind t he exhibi t ion, w hich mean s plann ing interacti ve d isplays, workshops and the at re. I aiso have t o bring in eng inee rs and elect ricians t o make sure t he f inal di splay is not dang erou st o visitors. Bef or e t he exhibit io n o pe ns, I help design and w rite th e broc hures and leaflet sth at we' ll use t o t ell people abo ut it .

main office but genera lly I am o n th e coast. I also work w it h schools and st udy cent res and
run courses fo r coasta l man ag ers and t hose

invo lved in making decisio ns abo ut th e fa te of t he seas. I d o t hings li ke take t he m o ut t o sea in a boat in an attemp t t o make t hem thin k mo re about th e life un dern eat h t hem . This ofte n cha nges th eir views as it 'sve ry different f ro m maki ng decision s using a computer screen. I am extremely lucky because conservation is my ho bby, so t he j o b has many hi gh s fo r me. The downside ofthe j o b is th at I work f o r a charity, so there is a constan t need f o r mo re mon ey. Thi s means I'm always loo kin g fo r more resou rces and I'm not ab le to achieve every t hing I want.

The fi rst th ing I do w hen I get here at 7.30 a.m . is check th e accounts. Then I see w hat new maps and doc ume nts need t o be prod uced in o rder to learn t he 'r uns' o r ro utes necessar y to pass th e London taxi-d river test . By mi dday, about 50 stude nts are in schoo l, working out how to make t he j ou rn eys. They w o rk o ut t he most direct route, usin g th e correct o ne-way st reets, and ri gh t - and lefthand tu rn s. I get invol ved when th ere's a d ifference of op inion - li ke w hethe r yo u can do a ri gh t tu rn at a particu lar juncti o n . W he n t hey' re close t o t he t est , I'll g ive th em a simp le rou t e and no matter w hat way th ey say th ey'll go, I'll te ll t he m t hey have t o use anothe r ro ute because t he road is closed. The next st ude nt w ill have t o fin d a t hird rou t e and aga in I'll come up w ith a reason w hy th ey can't go t hat way. It 's ju st t o make th em t hi nk.

My work is p retty varied. I have to make sure t hat th e pu bli shin g pro gra mme mat ches mar ket requirement s, and ensure th at we keep stocks of 300 o r so of t he book s t hat we pu blish. W e have ve ry hig h sta ndards of
inf o rmati on and conte nt. W e receive man y

letters f ro m read ers o n issues such as th e

re prese nt ati on of inter nati onal boun dari es

an d th ese in pa rticu lar req uire a careful respon se. I d iscuss f uture projects and current sales wi th co-pub lishe rs. I wo rk as part of an ent husiastic group w hich makes th e job th at mu ch more enjoyab le. The negati ve side , as with many jobs, ist hat t here is fa r too much adm inistration t o dea l w ith, w hich leaves less t ime to work o n t he more in t erestin g tasks such as prod uct deve lop me nt and design .

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Paper 1
Part 1
1 D

Reading

(1 hour)

2 A

3 B

4 A

5 C

6 B

7 D

8 B

Part 2
9 C
10 H

ll A

12 E

13B

14 G

15 F

Part 3
16 D 25 A

17 C
26 C

18 A 27 B

19 C 28 D

20 A

21 B

22 A

23 B

24 D

29 C

30 D