Hoang Thao – Bien Hoa Gifted High School

BOOSTER NUMBER 4

Task 1. Read the article and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
So who needs people?
People have always seen themselves as social animals, with living together as the norm, but increasing
numbers are settling down as singles. Why is this happening? It's often presented as indicating the
undesirable (1) ………….. of society but, actually, the reality is more interesting and less worrying. One
reason more people (2) ………….. for the single life is they can (3) ………….. it but since we are able to do
many things that we decide not to do, this financial answer is just one part of the explanation. Another is the
communications and technological revolution, which allows people to (4)…………….social events when
they're living alone. But a key (5)…………….seems to be that today, young people define living alone in a
positive way, as a (6) ……………… of success. They see it as a way to (7) ……………. time in developing
themselves personally and professionally. This means that the whole social framework is being transformed,
changing not only how we understand ourselves and our relationships but also the way we build places to
live and (8)………… economic growth
1. A. damage B. breakage C. splinter D. fragmentation
2. A. pick B. opt C. select D. decide
3. A. afford B. pay C. spend D. provide
4. A. get through with B. put up with C. take part in D. keep out of
5. A. contingency B. factor C. enquiry D. question
6. A. mark B. brand C. label D. symptom
7. A. contribute B. make C. invest D. supply
8. A. expose B. outline C. uncover D. promote

Task 2. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words given below.
bark - buzz - groan - roar - screech - stumble - swarm - thunder - tremble - whine
1. By the time I got into the auditorium, the place ……………………………with excitement. The award
for Best Actor had just been announced.
2. The film crew had to drive off quickly as a small herd of elephants……………………………across the
stretch of grassland.
3. A dog ran across the road and the car……………………………to a halt just in front of it.
4. A group of journalists……………………………round the actress as she came out of the airport.
5. Our trainer……………………………instructions at us continuously for over an hour. I was exhausted.
6. My voice…………………………… as I delivered the speech because I was so nervous.
7. As part of the game, six children jumped onto the bed and it……………………………under their
weight.
8. I remember sitting in the dentist's waiting room, absolutely petrified by the of the drill I could hear in
the next room.
9. My uncle………………….with laughter when I told him about the mistake I'd made at work.
10. My presentation wasn't very well prepared, but I managed to………………….through it.

Task 3. Read the article again. For questions 1 -6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think
fits best according to the text.
Madrid, my home sweet home
It took a long time, but expat Isabel Eva Bohrer is finally ready to call Madrid her home.
‘Back home!’ Whenever I board and disembark a plane, I make a point of texting my family about the
status of my travels. The Iberia flight from Munich, where I grew up, to Madrid, where 1 had been living for
two years, had been on time. ‘That’s a surprise', I thought - the Spanish airline is notorious for its delays and
strikes. Yet when I hit the ‘Send’ button of my phone, I was caught even more profoundly by surprise. For the
first time, I had referred to Madrid as my home.
As expats, we are bound to reflect on the notion of home at one point or another. Where is home? For
many expats, the concept isn’t black or white. Home involves numerous gray areas, including family and
friends, memories, language, religion, lifestyle, culture and more. Having lived abroad in the United States,
Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Switzerland and France, among others, I knew what it was like not to feel at home.
In the United States, not having a Social Security Number made me an outsider, causing numerous
 Hoang Thao – Bien Hoa Gifted High School
inconveniences, such as not being able to get a phone contract with certain providers. In Brazil, not speaking
the language perfectly had made me uneasy as I sensed that people talked behind my back.
In Spain, my blonde hair and fair skin clearly marks me as not a native. And yet, over the course of two
years, I have managed to feel at home in the Spanish capital. My unpretentious apartment in the barrio de
Salamanca - as opposed to the waterproof tent I had lived in while working on an organic farm in the
Argentine Patagonia - allowed me to unload my baggage, both physically and mentally. Instead of having to
gather wood for the night's fires, as I had done when hiking in the South American mountains, I could settle
down and focus on my professional goals as a writer.
But the feeling of home transcends the mere fact of having a somewhat permanent place to live. It is a
mental sensation of equilibrium that is achieved over time. For me, feeling at home in Madrid has been a
slow progressing relationship. The city initially made my acquaintance as a child: I had attended several
summer camps to improve my language skills. At age 16,1 completed an internship at an architecture firm in
the north of the city. And at age 22, the capital and I hit a home run: I came back for good, moving in to my
current piso (apartment). Slowly but surely, I learned to live the Spanish lifestyle. Dealing with
cantamafanas (literally translated as ‘those who sing tomorrow’) is the quotidian routine here.
As a natural optimist, I continue to believe in all the positive aspects of living in Madrid. If sports ignite
your spirit, Spaniards will welcome you to cheer along - the third-straight crowning of the Spanish football
team at Euro 2012 was unprecedented. Unparalleled, too, is the nightlife, which will enthral flamenco lovers
and clubbing addicts alike. At 8 a.m. you can watch the sun rise with chocolate con churros. In fact, the
culinary joys never seem to sleep in Spain. There are tapas bars open at all hours, too many to enumerate. For
the best bacalao (cod fish) in town, try Casa Labra, and the Bar Los Caracoles near the Rastro flea market
for some Spanish escargot.
From the azure sky, my glance returned to the SMS on my phone: ‘Glad to hear you arrived safely,’ my
family had texted back. Though they referred to that particular Munich-Madrid flight, I read the message as a
more universal interpretation of the expat lifestyle. As expats, we undergo a period of ambiguity, in which
we always feel like those who have just arrived. But if you give your new destination a chance, it can
eventually become your home.

A. Choose the correct answer

1. What is most unexpected for the writer?
A. the early arrival of a plane that is usually late
B. something she subconsciously includes in a message
C. a difficult question she is asked by her family
D. the respect other travellers give her
2. Feeling comfortable in another country isn't easy if
A. you are not accepted by the local people.
B. you are always moving on.
C. you are out of touch with your family.
D. you have some official problems.
3. The writer compares her accommodation in Madrid and Patagonia to focus on
A. expenses. B. practicalities. C. health problems. D. ethical issues.
4. What does the writer say about feeling at home in Madrid?
A. It didn't happen quickly.
B. It depended on finding a good place to live.
C. It was a result of becoming proficient in Spanish.
D. It required an acceptance of a slower lifestyle.
5. According to the writer, which aspect of Spanish culture gives both traditional and modern
experiences?
A. sport B. food C. shopping D. nightlife
6. The writer believes that expats are often
A. disappointed by their new life. B. insecure in the first few months.
C. anxious about their decision to move. D. unlucky in their choice of destination.
B. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the underlined words in the article.
1. Paul is a nice guy but he's got a load of……………………don't think he's got over losing his second
wife yet.
2. I was ……………………grateful for your help.
 Hoang Thao – Bien Hoa Gifted High School
3. The dancers are superb and they……………………the audiences every night.
4. Coffee has started to give me indigestion problems and I will have to give it up
5. You need to phrase the letter carefully so that there's no possibility of……………………at all
6. The……………………that the film's leading actor was sitting somewhere in the audience was exciting.
C. Match the adjectives from the article (1-6) with their meanings (A-F).
1. notorious A. never happened before
2. numerous B. famous for something negative
3. unpretentious C. impossible to match or equal
4. quotidian D. a large number of
5. unprecedented E. down to earth, simple
6. unparalleled F. everyday

Task 4. Read the article again. Six paragraphs have been removed from the article. Choose from the
paragraphs A-G the one which fits each gap (1-6). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need
to use.
Do fleeting changes of facial expression shoui uihether someone is telling lies?
Psychologist Paul Ekman believes he has the answer, he tells Jon Henley.
Forty years ago, research psychologist Dr Paul Ekman was addressing a group of young psychiatrists in
training when he was asked a question whose answer has kept him busy pretty much ever since. Suppose you
are working in a psychiatric hospital like this one and a patient who has previously been aggressive comes to
you. ‘I’m feeling much better now,’ the patient says. ‘Can I have a pass out for the weekend?’
(1)……………….
It set Ekman thinking. As part of his research, he had already recorded a series of twelve-minute
interviews with patients at the hospital. In a subsequent conversation, one of the patients told him that she
had lied to him. So Ekman sat and looked at the film. Nothing. He slowed it down and looked again. Slowed
it further. And suddenly, there, across just two frames, he saw it: a vivid, intense expression of extreme
anguish.
(2)……………….
Over the course of the next four decades, Ekman successfully demonstrated a proposition first suggested
by Charles Darwin: that the ways in which we express anger, disgust, contempt, fear, surprise, happiness and
sadness are both innate and universal.
(3)……………….
However, particularly when we are lying, ‘microexpressions' of powerfully- felt emotions will invariably
flit across our faces before we get a chance to stop them. Fortunately for liars, as many as ninety-nine percent
of people will fail to spot these fleeting signals of inner torment. But given a bit of training, Ekman says,
almost anyone can develop the skill.
(4)……………….
The psychologist’s techniques, he concedes, can only be a starting point for criminal investigators
applying them. ‘All they show is that someone’s lying,' he says. ‘You have to question very carefully because
what you really want to know is why they are lying. No expression of emotion, micro or macro, reveals
exactly what is triggering it.’ He gives an example.
(5)……………….
Plus there are lies and lies. Ekman defines a lie as being a deliberate choice and intent to mislead, and
with no notification that this is what is occurring. ‘An actor or a poker player isn't a liar,’ he says. ‘They’re
supposed to be deceiving you - it’s part of the game. I focus on serious lies: where the consequences for the
liar are grave if they’re found out.’
(6)……………….
Just read microexpressions and subtle expressions correctly, however, and Ekman reckons your accuracy
in detecting an attempt at deception will increase dramatically. However, when it comes to spotting really
serious lies - those that could, for example, affect national security - he says simply that he ‘does not believe
we have solid evidence that anything else works better than chance.’ Is he lying? I couldn’t tell.
A. But once he had spotted the first one, he soon found three more examples in that same interview. ‘And
that,’ says Ekman, ‘was the discovery of microexpressions; very fast, intense expressions of concealed
 Hoang Thao – Bien Hoa Gifted High School
emotion.'
B. Ekman, incidentally, professes to be ‘a terrible liar’ and observes that although some people are plainly
more accomplished liars than others, he cannot teach anyone how to lie. ‘The ability to detect a lie and
the ability to lie successfully are completely unrelated,' he says. But how can what he has learned help
crime-solving?
C. But how reliable are Ekman’s methods? ‘Microexpressions,’ he says, ‘are only part of a whole set of
possible deception indicators. There are also what we call subtle expressions. A very slight tightening of
the lips, for example, is the most reliable sign of anger. You need to study a person’s whole demeanour:
gesture, voice, posture, gaze and also, of course, the words themselves.'
D. You also know, of course, that psychiatric patients routinely make such claims and that some, if they are
granted temporary leave, will cause harm to themselves or others. But this particular patient swears they
are telling the truth. They look, and sound, sincere. So here’s the question; is there any way you can be
sure they are telling the truth?
E. Generally, though, the lies that interest Ekman are those in which ‘the threat of loss or punishment to the
liar is severe: loss of job, loss of reputation, loss of spouse, loss of freedom’. Also those where the target
would feel properly aggrieved if they knew.
F. ‘Suppose,’ Ekman posits, 'my wife has been found murdered in our hotel. How would I react when the
police questioned me? My demeanour might well be consistent with a concealed emotion. That could be
because I was guilty or because I was extremely angry at being a suspect, yet frightened of showing
anger because I knew it might make the police think I was guilty.’
G. The facial muscles triggered by those seven basic emotions are, he has shown, essentially the same,
regardless of language and culture, from the US to Japan, Brazil to Papua New Guinea. What is more,
expressions of emotion are involuntary; they are almost impossible to suppress or conceal. We can try, of
course.

Task 5. Read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.
To sell or not to sell?
You may think selling your house is easy but everyone wants to get the best deal. Unfortunately, the housing
market is (1)...........to highs and lows, which could prevent your (2)........... the price you want. However,
displaying your house at its best could persuade (3)........... buyers it’s w orth paying more for than a similar
one nearby. Here are some simple steps you can take that might (4)........... a sale. De-clutter and throw away
or store superfluous stuff. It may have sentimental value for you but to a buyer it’s junk. Tidy shelves and
work surfaces. (5)........... most buyers will renovate a house as soon as they move in, it is worth (6)...........up
the place by painting, replacing worn carpets and so on. The look you want is neat but lived in - comfortable
and cosy but suggesting that there is still (7)........... for a purchaser to put their own (8)........... on the house.
It’s your home and you love it but the trick is to make others love it, too!
1. A. liable B. subject C.acceptable D. part
2. A. succeeding B. winning C. achieving D. managing
3. A. developing B. unrealised C. potential D. capable
4. A. clinch B. fix C. verify D. stick
5. A. But B. Despite C. However D. Although
6. A. doing B. getting C. making D. working
7. A. space B. room C. place D. capacity
8. A. idea B. brand C. character D. stamp

Task 6. Read the text below and think of ONE word which best fits each gap.
Communication gone too far?
We are keen to keep in touch with friends at all hours of the day or night – and tweeting has become a
(1)……………………..form of communication. But is it really appropriate in all situations? Many tweeters
have a strange urge to post their reactions to things as quickly as possible, to avoid being thought of as
(2)……………………..the times. But what if in a theatre, people tweet during the performance itself,
(3)…………………….ruining it for those around them? It’s hard to imagine a live theatrical experience as
anything (4)…………………….. than devalued when half the audience can be seen in the glow of their
phone screens, tweeting away (5)…………………….. of following the play. But the success of a
performance requires the audience to pay attention.
Some US theatres have (6)……………………..matters into their own hands (7)……………………..
designating some sections as ‘tweet seats’, well away from others. Nevertheless, when even part of the
audience is inattentive - doing something like composing a thought in a tweet - it affects the
(8)……………… atmosphere.