5 Jextra
5 Jextra
5 Jextra
The urge to explore is something which is inside us: we are born with it. Of course, I
didn’t know it at the time, but I suppose it first affected me when I was old enough to crawl
behind the sofa to see what was there. Certainly, when I was eight I had already decided
on my future – I wanted to be an explorer.
This desire influenced every area of my early life. I collected stamps for the pictures of
the waterfalls of Nyasaland and the sugar plantations of Mauritius. I went to church every
Sunday, not for the hymns but in the hope that the visiting preacher might be a missionary –
a tall, thin, sun-burnt man with terrifying tales of Africa and half an arm missing.
For some reason my parents never encouraged me with talk of their own travels, though
both had been to India in the 1920s. And it was not until I was at university that I had my
first real taste of travel. I went to the Tirol with a university ski-party. I was excited because
I had not been abroad before, but I am afraid to say that I hardly noticed the Austrian
scenery. At the age of nineteen I was much more interested in girls than places.
For the next ten years after university I stayed at home exploring things like jobs and
relationships. It was only when I had both of these more or less sorted out (I was married
and my acting career had finally taken off) that I began to realize that I could now start
looking around. Until then the world had existed only in my imagination.
With my two TV programmes ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ and ‘Pole to Pole’, I
managed to see huge areas of the world. You would think that my desire to explore would
be satisfied by now but exploration is not like that. Your curiosity never dies.
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Fifth Year
Extra Paper 2012
2
2. In what ways did Michael satisfy his exploring need before he started travelling?
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4. Why did he stop travelling for ten years after he finished university?
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B. Match the underlined words/phrases from the passage with their meanings on the right:
(5)
g.- story
C. Complete each of these sentences so that it means the same as the sentence written
before it. (10)
I wish .........................................................................................................................
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Fifth Year
Extra Paper 2012
3
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I ……………………....................................................................................................
D. Complete with the correct tense or form of the verbs in brackets. Use modals, when
necessary. (15)
the Bermuda Triangle, one of the world’s most mysterious places. This area (2) (link)
………………………………………….. with more than 100 lost ships and planes and more than
1,000 deaths. We know that many of these were caused by shipping accidents or tropical
storms but the fate of the now famous Flight 19 (3) (still be)
Flight 19 was a training flight which (4) (take) ………………………………………….. off from
a US Navy base in Fort Lauderdale. The plane (5) (carry) …………………………….……….. the
most modern technology so the radio operator back at base was surprised when he received a
message from the pilot (6) (complain) …………….……………………….. that they were lost. His
last communication was: ‘Not sure where we are. Looks like we...’ They (7) (never / see)
………………………………………….. again.
attribute the events to UFOs. Steven Spielberg used this idea for his film Close Encounters of
the Third Kind, where he clearly showed that the lost Flight 19 aircrew (9) (kidnap)
Colin is talking with his friend Pam, who’s just back from her holidays in Rome.
Pam: No, it was my first time. I was so excited I enjoyed every minute!
Pam: Mostly sunny, fortunately, which made every place look even more
beautiful.
Colin: I’d love to see pictures of Rome. You probably (5) __________________
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F. Composition.
Choose one of the following subjects and write about 120 words: (30)
a) If you are interested in travelling around Europe, write a short article to Teens
magazine explaining why travelling is good for young people and how you would
benefit from the experience. The writer of the best entry will win a free Europe
Rail monthly travel pass!
b) You have just won a trip to your penfriend’s city and you feel very excited at the
idea of travelling. Write an email to let him/her know about the prize, how you
won it and make arrangements for your upcoming visit.
Fifth Year
Extra Paper 2012
5
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