In this section you will find after each o f the passages a number of questions or unfinished

statements about the passage, each with four suggested answers or ways o f finishing. You
must choose the one which you think fits best. On your answer sheet indicate the letter A, B, C
or D against the number o f each item 26-40 for the answer you choose. Give one answer only
to each question. Read each passage right through before choosing your answers.

FIRST PASSAGE
Steve Courtney wrote historical novels. Not, he was quick to explain, over-colourful love
stories of the kind that made so much money for so many women writers, but novels set, and
correctly set, in historical periods. Whatever difference he saw in his own books, his readers
did not seem to notice it, and his readers were nearly all women. He had studied at university,
but he had not been a particularly good student, and he had never afterwards let any academic
knowledge he had gained interfere with his writing.
Helen, his wife, who did not have a very high opinion of her husband's ability as a
novelist, had been careful to say when she married him that she was not historically minded.
Steve had accepted this, perhaps even welcomed it, and had not expected her to read all his
books, still less to talk to him about them. He had not married her for that. She had, therefore,
never been in danger of revealing her views by accident. All the same she knew that she had to
be careful, especially when relaxing at parties, in case she gave away what she really thought
about Steve's writing. She found it was easier to deal with the women on these occasions
because, although they were all very attracted to Steve, they mostly saw that they could not
compete with Helen in attractiveness, so she could easily be nice to them. Up till now she had
not let these problems worry her, but she was beginning to feel that the situation might not
always be without its difficulties.
Above all, Helen was doubtful whether her relationship with Steve would work at all in
the village of Stretton, to which they had just moved. It was Steve who had wanted to move to
the country, and she had been glad of the change, in principle, whatever doubts she was now
having about Stretton as a choice. But she wondered whether Steve would not, before very
long, want to live in London again, and what she would do if he did. The Stretton house was
not a weekend cottage. They had moved into it and given up the London flat altogether, partly
at least, she suspected, because that was Steve's idea of what a successful author ought to do.
However, she thought he was not going to feel like a successful author half as much in Stretton
as he had in London. On the other hand, she supposed he might just start dashing up to London
for the day to see his agent or have lunch with his publisher, leaving her behind in Stretton, and
she thought on the whole she would like that.
Their house, when properly furnished, was going to be lovely; and, in limited doses, she
could enjoy the heavy peace of the place much more on her own than with Steve behaving like
a successful author in his study upstairs.
The move had been made very quickly. Steve had money and when he wanted anything,
he got it fast. It was, of course, true that the things he wanted, or at least admitted he wanted,
were always things he was capable of getting. Like many self-centred men, he had an exact
awareness of his own limitations.

26 What was Steve's attitude towards women who wrote love-stories?

A He would have liked to earn as much money as they did.
B He was afraid of being compared unfavourably with them.
C He did not think he could write about the same subjects.
D He had a low opinion of the kind of books they wrote.

27 What did Helen find difficult to hide?

A Her lack of interest in history.
B Her low opinion of her husband's writing.
 C Her dislike of her husband's admirers.
D Her inability to understand his books.

28 What problem did Helen find she had at parties?

A Women would not talk to her.
B Men paid her too much attention.
C Steve talked so much more than she did.
D She was tempted to say too much.

29 What were Helen's feelings about the move from London to Stretton?
A She wanted to remain in the country.
B She had been unwilling to leave London.
C She thought it was time to return to London.
D She would have preferred a weekend house in the country.

30 Helen thought Steve might not be content in Stretton because

A he would not be able to write so well in the country.

B he would be lonely without all his London friends.
C his relationship with Helen was changing.
D he would not feel so important in Stretton.

31 The passage as a whole suggests that Steve's novels were

A popular but unimportant.
B serious works of literature.
C admired for their historical truth.
D written with women readers in mind.

SECOND PASSAGE
A new British medical instrument is about to change dramatically our ability to recognise
disease hidden inside the body. It is called the magnetic scanner, and it gives information about
the body which current machines, such as the brain scanner and the more recent body scanner,
cannot provide. And unlike existing machines the new machine does not use X-ray radiation
waves, which makes it much safer for patients.
Unlike existing scanners, a magnetic scanner can show the side of the back of a suspect part
of the body. Used on, for example, a lung with suspected damage, it can turn the image of the
lung to give a series of different views. The image is not simply worked out in the computer's
'imagination': the magnetic scanner actually examines every side of the lung.
When examining the softer parts of the body with existing scanners, doctors frequently have
to use a 'contrast medium' to make a muscular organ show up to X-ray waves. The usual
'contrast medium' given to patients before a stomach X-ray scan takes place is harmless, but for
some brain-scans a 'contrast medium' has to be given in an injection so that it passes into the
brain. This is unpleasant and painful and it can be dangerous. The magnetic scanner needs no
'contrast medium'.
The new machine can also see in greater detail than ever before. Growths of all kinds show up
clearly on the brain and so do the dead patches which are the signs of the disease, multiple
sclerosis. Until now patients complaining of double vision or an inability to control their
muscles from time to time could be suffering from multiple sclerosis or, equally, from some
much more easily cured disease and a brain scanner could not distinguish between these with
certainty. The doctor can now definitely say whether or not cancer or multiple sclerosis is
present. Previously, these diseases have been missed and patients have been given false
information about their health. The technique is still improving with great speed: pictures
produced a couple of years ago look very simple compared with those of today.

32 What does the new magnetic scanner machine do?

A It looks at a diseased part of the body from all directions.
B It can look right through a diseased part of the body.
C It sends waves round the diseased part of the body.
D It uses a computer to 'imagine' different views of the body.

33 What disadvantage do existing machines have?

A Patients need an injection before they are used.
B The contrasts recorded are too strong.
C It is often necessary to use a contrast medium.
D The X-ray waves are sometimes painful.

34 In what way is the new machine an improvement?

A It can cure some diseases much more easily.
B It will never give a double view.
C The techniques involved can be learnt quickly.
D It can show all the details of a diseased part of the body.

35 The machine is useful in identifying the disease, multiple sclerosis, because it shows
A dark spots in the eyes.
B dead areas in the brain.
C cancer-like growths.
D damage to muscles.

THIRD PASSAGE
Exercise courses on tape are the latest fashion among people who want to keep fit. A magazine
asked three women to try out one different course each. They were told to do the exercises
every day for a fortnight. An instruction chart accompanied each tape. Here are their reports.

Pat Jones (using 'Get Into Shape')

I started to eat less at the same time as I started to exercise. Perhaps this affected my
concentration and was one of the reasons I found it difficult to follow the instructions at first.
Once I had mastered them, I did not find the movements a strain, though I must say I did not
put too much effort into them. I had imagined I would find the instructor's voice annoying, but
instead, it was encouraging. The first few days I was stiff, but I carried on. The exercises
became enjoyable when I was able to do them without continually looking at the chart.
I had tried to lose weight before but since I'd given up smoking I'd never lost more than a
kilo or so. This time I lost 3 kilos in two weeks. I really think the exercises helped.

Jane Ellis (using 'Shape to Music')

I'd recently had a baby and was anxious to recover my former shape and weight after my
pregnancy. I was already doing exercises given to me by the hospital, but I couldn't eat less
because I was breast-feeding my baby. I didn't find the instructions on the chart with the tape
any too clear. It took me about forty-five minutes to understand what I was meant to be doing.
I couldn't attempt some of the exercises because the hospital advised against it. At first I
followed the tape for only twenty minutes a day, but they made me ache all over. By the fourth
day, my stomach muscles seemed to be tighter but I was getting bored with the tape so I gave
up for a day or two. Then I took up my routine again and by the end of the fortnight I had lost
2 kilos in weight. However, I was disappointed that, although my stomach muscles seemed
firmer, my other muscles did not.

Ann Deakin (using 'Touch Your Toes')

At my first attempt I found I had to concentrate on the instructions and after half an hour I
became extremely bored. I'm sure I would have enjoyed the exercises more in company. I
didn't find any of them difficult. Mind you, I'm used to very tough American exercises. I didn't
think the instruction chart was simple enough. I still needed to use it at the end of the fortnight.
As I am a dressmaker I get continual back and neck ache from bending over my sewing
machine. I had hoped that the movements for strengthening the back would help me. By the
fifth day my muscles felt stronger but I suspected the change was more psychological than
physical. Then I began to speed up the tape by cutting out the unnecessary talk between the
exercises and eventually I did the exercises without the tape at all.
My back is still sore but the tension in my neck has eased and I am now convinced that
my muscles really are stronger.

36 Pat enjoyed the exercises she did when

A the instructor's voice was encouraging.
B she put some effort into them.
C she stopped smoking.
D she could remember the movements.

36 In what way did Jane not do what the magazine had told her?
A She only did the exercises she liked.
B She did not do the exercises regularly.
C She did not cut down on the amount of food she ate.
D She spent 45 minutes a day on the exercises.

38 Ann differed from the two other women in that she

A did not find the exercises hard to do.
B was not trying to lose weight.
C did not enjoy the exercises.
D became bored with the tape.

39 All the women agreed that

A the instruction charts were unsatisfactory.
B they needed more time to judge the courses.
C the exercises had made their muscles stronger.
D they had become fitter than they had expected.

40 Which of the women used the tapes and charts in the way they were supposed to be used?
A Pat
B Jane
C Ann
D None of them
6 Read the following descriptions o f properties and o f some people who are looking for
somewhere to live. Which do you think they will probably choose, and why? Give your
reasons in the spaces provided below.

1. four-bedroomed house 2. ground floor flat with garden by the sea,

large garden 50 miles from London
30 minutes from centre of London close to shopping centre
three minutes' walk from railway station bus stop outside
near park and swimming pool one bedroom
central heating
3. small country house, 4. spacious 17th floor modern flat
50 miles from London beautiful view of Thames and central London
two bedrooms balcony and roof garden
no central heating garage space for two cars
large vegetable garden caretaker and security guard
no public transport nearby
beautiful walks

Tom and Jill Hampton

young married couple, no children both
journalists in London often work late, go
abroad
like driving
like entertaining friends

Ernest and Lucy Todd

just retired, after living ifT London all their lives
Lucy has just had an operation on her leg: can't walk far and must
keep warm
Ernest likes gardening and country walks

Christopher and Rowena Martin

Christopher is a banker
works in London but prefers to live in the country
Rowena looks after two children of school age and a baby

The Hamptons would probably choose ...............................................................

The Todds would prefer

The Martins would choose