What does Alan say a best boy is?W: I suppose the first question I have to ask you, Alan, is one you get fed up answering, but here it goes. What is a best boy? M: Well, I am not sure why I am called a best boy exactly. But I like to think it is because I am the best at what I do. The title is an American term, used to describe the assistant to the man who works with the cameraman and electricians on a film to make sure that the film is properly lit. W: So how do you spend your time? M: Basically what I do is work between the electrical department and production. I deal with the companies where the lights come from. And I am also there on the film site, making sure that everything runs smoothly, that the lighting is set up when the camera crew arrives to shoot the film. And then I also help with the budget. We have to do time sheets and things like that. It is mostly paper work really. W: When did you start working in the industry? M: About 15 years ago. I had been an electrician and my first few film jobs were basically electrical ones. Then I moved over to this. W: It sounds a rather complicated job to me. M: No, not really. I’ve never had to do anything out of the ordinary. But I enjoy it. It is a challenge. W: Is working on location a plus for you? M: You see some great places, but long working days and problems with production are far more common. There is a lot of responsibility with the job, because there is so much money involved. The long hours are very unsociable which is OK if you are single. But there is quite a lot of work abroad, which puts a lot of pressure on the family. W: What advise would you give to someone wanting to give it a try? M: You need a good head for mathematics, plus knowing how to mind the fields? So training as an electrician is the first step. Then you need some experience on a production floor. W: Where do you see yourself in the future? M: I like it where I am. I like working behind the scenes, and seeing how the production works. There are enough challenges in my present job for me. It is a young man he likes best. It is just the name of his job. It is a popular American film. It is an American band.

Usually vertical stripes give a______impression of greater height. deceitful deceptive delusive misleading

Living in the western part of the country has its problems, ______obtaining fresh water is not the least. with which for which of which which

Guest: I have to go now. Thank you for the delicious meal. Hostess: You’re welcome. ______ I’m afraid I can’t cook well. I’m glad to have met you. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I hope to meet you again soon.

Tourist: How much is that ring, please? Vendor: Only $200, sir. Tourist: ______How about $100? Vendor: I can let you have it for $180. All right. I’ll take it. That’s very expensive. How splendid it is! I’d like very much to have it.

______the invention of the steam engine, most forms of transport were horsedrawn. Kin to Prior to In addition to With reference to

For many years after he formed his Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein visited many universities in different cities where he gave talks about it. He had his own chauffeur who drove him to where he was to give the talk. The chauffeur sat at the back of the room while he was giving his lecture, and then drove him home. One day, the chauffeur said to Einstein, “Professor, I have heard you give your talk so many times that I know every word of it. “ “Do you?“ Einstein said with a smile. “Let’s find out, shall we? You give my next talk for me. Nobody knows what I look like where we’re going. I’m just a name to them. “ Just before they reached the university where Einstein was to give his talk, he changed places with his chauffeur. The chauffeur’s memory was excellent and he was able to give Einstein’s talk exactly as Einstein gave it. He did not understand a word he was saying, but this did not seem to matter. Then, as he was leaving the university, one of the teachers who had been at the talk came up to him. “Professor Einstein,“ he said. “That was a most interesting talk. I’d be grateful if you would answer a question. “ The chauffeur hurried on. “I’m sorry,“ he said, “but I’m late for my next meeting. “ “ I’ll walk with you, “ the teacher said. “ I want to talk to you about the problem. “ The teacher walked along beside the chauffeur and asked him to solve a very difficult mathematical problem. The poor chauffeur couldn’t understand the problem, let alone attempt an answer. He did not know what to say. Then he had an idea. “It’s so simple,“ he said. “Even my chauffeur could answer it. “ He pointed to his car, where Einstein was standing, still wearing the chauffeur’s cap. “This man has a maths question,“ he said to Einstein. “It’s so easy I’m sure even you can answer it. “ Questions 71—75 Complete the summary with words from the passage, changing the form where necessary, with only one word for each blank. Albert Einstein was a famous scientist who worked out the Theory of Relativity. He used to travel around the country with his chauffeur giving【R1】______on mathematics. His chauffeur knew his talk very well so Einstein asked him to give the talk at the next【R2】______where they did not know him. The chauffeur did well, but afterwards a teacher came up to him and asked him a difficult 【R3】______problem. The chauffeur did not know the answer but he said, “This problem is so simple I’m sure my chauffeur knows how to【R4】______it. “ Then he pointed to Einstein still standing in his【R5】______beside the car.

Democracy is not a new conception. The ancient Athenians 【M1】______ had a democratic system. Their democracy was the same as American democracy in many ways. Furthermore, there are 【M2】______ several important differences between their democracy and ours. The ancient Athenian citizens voted for their representatives, and they also voted for certain issues. 【M3】______ Moreover, any qualified citizen could become public official. The 【M4】______ ancient Athenian democratic government also protected the citizens’ right private property, encouraging private business and 【M5】______ supported public education. A similar system of representative government exists in the United States. United States citizens vote for their representatives, and they can impeach representatives, too. 【M6】______ American citizens also vote on certain important matters. In the United States, like in ancient Athens, any qualified citizen can 【M7】______ become a public official. The government of this country also protects private property, encourages private business enterprise. and supports public education. The major difference between these two forms of democracy is the definition of citizen. In ancient Athens a citizen was a free man, not a woman and a slave. Women and 【M8】______ slaves were largest part of the population: thus, the Athenian 【M9】______ democracy was not broadly representative. In the United States, however, all American men and women, of all races and religions, are citizens. Slavery is legal in this country. 【M10】______ Therefore, American democracy is more broadly representative. In brief, democracy is an old and varied concept. In the past it meant different things to many different people.

What number should replace the question mark? [*]

Study the following cartoon carefully and write an essay to describe the cartoon and give your comments on it. You should write no less than 160 words on the answer sheet. [*]

Students can choose from about ten essays titles for their first assignment.M: I know it’s early but do you know anything about the first assignment that we have to do? W: Yes, it’s already up on the economics faculty notice board. There’s a choice of essays up there. I think there are about 10 you can choose from. I can’t remember any of the titles though apart from the one that I think I’m going to write about. M: What’s that one then? W: It’s about the short-term future of third world economies. M: Ooh. I don’t like the sound of that. It seems very wide-ranging. W: It is but remember that I spent some of the summer vacation travelling in Africa and Asia so that has made me more interested in the subject and I’ve also got some firsthand ideas on the subject. M: Does the essay list mention how long the essays have to be and the deadlines? W: Yes. You remember that last year all the essays had to be 3 ,000 words in length? Well, that’s gone up by a thousand words’. M: Oh no! They’ll take ages. W: I know. I was hoping that they’d stay at 3 ,000 words or only go up to 3 ,500, but no luck I’m afraid. M: What about the deadline? W: The first one has to be in by the 30th October and the: second by the 30th November. It looks like one essay a month like last year. M: Well at least that hasn’t changed but as it’s the end of September now, that leaves only a month to get the first one done. I’m going to have got onto that straight away. W: Yes, you’d better. If you want to talk about it, I’m going to be at the campus cafeteria at 1: 30 for lunch. We could go over some questions. M: OK. See you then. Bye. W: Bye. True False

Dictation Listen to the passage. For questions 21—25, fill in the blanks with the exact words or phrases you hear. ’ Diamonds’ , sang Marilyn Monroe in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, ’ are a girl’ s best friend. ’ You might not agree, but you can be sure that diamonds are not only【D1】______ in the world, they are also the most expensive. A single diamond sold for $16. 5 million at an 【D2】______in Geneva in 1995! Diamonds are found in a number of countries including Australia, South Africa, Brazil and the Russian Federation. In fact, there are two main types of diamonds. These are colourless diamonds (about 25% of those found) , which have only a few【D3】______and are usually made into jewellery , and black diamonds—the remaining 75 % —which contain a lot of impurities, and are used in industrial【D4】______. Industrial diamonds are also produced artificially. The largest diamond ever found is the Cullinan diamond. It weighed 620 grams and was found in a South African diamond mine in 1905. It was bought by the Transvaal Government for ￡150,000, and then presented to the King of England, Edward VE. The diamond was then 【D5】______nine smaller jewels, which are now part of the British crown jewels. These jewels belong to the British government and are kept in the Tower of London.Dictation Listen to the passage. For questions 21—25, fill in the blanks with the exact words or phrases you hear. ’Diamonds’ , sang Marilyn Monroe in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, ’ are a girl’s best friend. ’ You might not agree, but you can be sure that diamonds are not only the hardest substance in the world, they are also the most expensive. A single diamond sold for $16. 5 million at an auction in Geneva in 1995! Diamonds are found in a number of countries including Australia, South Africa, Brazil and the Russian Federation. In fact, there are two main types of diamonds. These are colourless diamonds (about 25% of those found) , which have only a few impurities and are usually made into jewellery, and black diamonds—the remaining 75%—which contain a lot of impurities, and are used in industrial applications. Industrial diamonds are also produced artificially. The largest diamond ever found is the Cullinan diamond. It weighed 620 grams and was found in a South African diamond mine in 1905. It was bought by the Transvaal Government for ￡150,000, and then presented to the King of England, Edward VII. The diamond was then cut into nine smaller jewels, which are now part of the British crown jewels. These jewels belong to the British government and are kept in the Tower of London.

Summary Listen to the passage. For questions 26—30, complete the notes using no more than three words for each blank. The best-seller wooden toy among our products is【D6】______, which is designed for 【D7】______. Our output per month is 4,000 items, and the average【D8】______time per box is 5 minutes. We have 1000 boxes in storage, and the next dispatch will come on November third. Currently , we have 20 drivers and 40 staff working on the【D9】______. All staff do【D10】______ work.Summary Listen to the passage. For questions 26—30, complete the notes using no more than three words for each blank. Well, the next product I want to move onto is children’s toys. In this part of building, we manufacture several different wooden toys. But the greatest demand is for our train sets. These are made up of ten pieces and each piece is a different color. It’s a toy for the under-fives and it sells well. We manufacture 1,000 of these every week. That’s a total production of 4,000 a month. Over here, we put all the toys into boxes. Because this is a product for young children, everything has to be very carefully checked beforehand. So the average time it takes for packaging is 5 minutes per box. We supply a lot of large department stores throughout the country. Orders are not constant, but go up and down depending on what time of the year it is. So we try to keep about 1,000 boxes in storage at any one time. That’s the number that we have at the moment anyway. As I said, we deliver our children’s toys to stores around the country. Outside, we’re just loading up the lorries which are going to set off tomorrow. That’s November third. Then there won’t be another dispatch until 10th, November. We have 20 drivers working in this area at the moment and we have 40 staff working on the production lines. As we need to work at night as well as during the day, everyone does some kind of shift work, though the hours vary according to area of production that they’re working.

Please sweep up all the glass______before anyone steps on them. chunks chips frames bulks

For some time now, world leaders ______ out the necessity for agreement on arms reduction. had been pointing have been pointing were pointing pointed

______before we depart the day after tomorrow, we should have a wonderful dinner party. Had they arrived Would they arrive Were they arriving Were they to arrive

By no means______look down upon the unemployed. we should we should not we we should

On the flag of Australia, the small Union Jack represents the historical link______Britain and the large seven pointed star represents the six states and the territories. with between across on

The Millennium Seed Bank Project [*] One of the largest conservation projects ever undertaken, this international collaboration aims to safeguard over 24,000 plant species world-wide against extinction and to secure the future of the UK’s native flowering plants. A new building to house the seed vaults will open in the summer at Wakehurst Place in Sussex. It will include an exhibition and provide a world resource for seed conservation, research and education. The total project cost is about ￡ 80 million. The Millennium Commission is providing a grant of up to ￡30 million and we are also particularly grateful to Orange plc whose early commitment was so crucial, and to the Wellcome Trust, the world’s largest medical research charity. Recognising the enormous contribution that plants make to successful remedies, the Trust has provided ￡9. 2 million towards the building itself which will be known as the Wellcome Trust Millennium Building. Much of the remaining cost will be sought from international funding agencies. Why do we need to conserve plants? Within fifty years, one quarter of the world’s plants could be condemned to extinction. Should this happen, many thousands of animals will disappear as well, but perhaps most importantly, the human cost will be huge. As well as providing staple food crops, plants are the source of a great many medicines, and form the principal supply of fuel and building materials in many parts of the world. They also protect the soil and help to regulate the climate. However, plants are often lost before we know anything about their potential benefits for society. Why do we need seed banks? We would always like plants and their habitats to be conserved in the wild. Sadly, pressures on the environment are so great that it is not always possible to do this. Because we can’t always guarantee the safety of a plant in its natural environment, banking seeds provides an effective form of insurance. Seed bank are a very efficient and cost-effective means of conserving plant species because seeds occupy very little space and require little attention. Many thousands of seeds for each species are stored in a seed bank. Each seed represents a potential new plant. Life’s strength is in its diversity, so the greater variety of seeds we store for each species, the more we can guarantee that species’ safe future. Aims of the Millennium Seed Bank The project aims to collect and conserve seeds from the entire UK native seed-bearing flora by the year 2000. Through international collaboration the aim is to bank 24,000 species, principally from the world’s drylands, by 2010. The project will also carry out research to improve all aspects of seed conservation, make seeds available for research and species reintroduction into the wild, and it aims to promote public interest in plant conservation. Questions 56—60 Complete the following form with no more than three words according to the passage. [*]

—I can never do well in my first class of the day. I think my brain is still asleep! —______ —Maybe we should go jogging before school each morning. —That sounds like a good idea. I’m afraid I can’t accept your idea. Would you like to say it again? I can’t see what you mean. I couldn’t agree with you more.

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2016 is______to Bob Dylan “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition. abandoned awarded graded modified

How long has Alan been working in the industry?

For Alan, what is a disadvantage of the job?

For a job like this, what does Alan recommend doing, first of all?

What does Alan say about his future?