Technical English language

1 The text is probably taken from 3 Which, according to the text, is old-fashioned?
A a sensationalist newspaper. A Alien
B a film script. B Blade Runner
C a ‘serious’ newspaper. C Star Wars
D an advertisement for a film. D Jurassic Park

2 Which would be the best title for it? 4 The text is probably by
A ‘Old films are better than new ones’ A the director of Alien.
B ‘My favourite science-fiction film’ B another film director.
C ‘New films are better than old ones’ C a film critic.
D ‘Science-fiction is never convincing’ D a schoolboy.

4. You are going to read an article about reading. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-I for each part (1-7) of the article. There is one extra heading which you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (0).

A Don’t be afraid to give up D Carry a book about G Buy it, don’t borrow
B Treat them badly if you have to E Finding the time at home H Deciding what to read
C Is reading worth it? F When not to read I We realize we should read
Turning over a new leaf
Do you only ever read on holiday? David Mills tells infrequent page-turners how to keep going all year.

0

I

Nobody would argue that reading books is a bad thing. We may feel that Arnold Bennett was going slightly over the top when he said that the man who does not read books ‘is merely not born. He can’t see; he can’t hear; he can’t feel, in any full sense. He can only eat his dinner’, but more often than not, we would agree, reading a book is normally better than watching television. So, most of us would really quite like to read.

1

A recent government survey of what we actually do revealed that the average woman spends the equivalent of only five days a year reading (the average man four days), compared to 56 days of watching television. Cutting down on time spent in front of the box should give you some spare hours, and if you are male you’re even luckier. The same survey also discovered that the average man spends 17 days a year ‘doing nothing at all’.

2

If you examine your day for reading opportunities, you will discover lots of free time. Standing at the bus stop, travelling by train, over lunch, in the dentist’s waiting room, queuing up for things: the occasional 10-20 minutes here and there quickly add up. But the time will fly if you always have your book with you.

3

Books are there to be read. You can generally buy classics for £1, so don’t be overprotective with them. Read in the bath (in the shower may not be such a good idea). I once found myself with 75 pages of a Dickens novel left to read, and a plane to catch. Rather than spend a two-week holiday lumbered with a 900-page book I pulled the last 100 pages out and took them with me.

4

There are 106,000 books published in Britain every year. The best of seven centuries worth of literature is published in paperback. There has to be something you would like. Identifying it may take time. Be guided by what you have already enjoyed in the past and branch out from there: Roald Dahl? Then try R.L. Stine. Stephen King? Then try Clive Barker. Agatha Christie? Then try Patricia Highsmith or Ruth Rendell.

5

If you are not particularly enjoying a book, you are guaranteed to find 143 other things to do instead of reading. Consequently, it will take months to finish and put you off picking up another. When you find this happening, stop reading this book and start another immediately.

6

Most people usually go to bed because they are tired. Why then do so many of them also think it would be the ideal time to read? Reading is tiring – it is mental exercise. Either you will fall asleep after two pages, or your brain will become so stimulated you will have insomnia.

7

If you want to be part of 3,000 years of civilization
(and speculation about what happened before that) then get reading. Otherwise, stick to eating dinner.