READING COMPREHENSION TEST B NAME:

1 Read the texts. For questions 1–5, choose from texts A–D. You may choose the texts
more than once.

A I grew up dreaming of becoming a famous actor. My parents thought this was just a
childish phase that would pass and didn’t try to change my mind. However, my career plans
remained the same. I’ll never forget my dad’s face when I told him I’d applied for a place on
a performing arts course as I wanted to learn how to dance. I’m sure he must have
wondered why he hadn’t tried harder to persuade me to study law or business like my
friends. Although Mum and Dad were very worried as they didn’t want me to get a
qualification that mightn’t enable me to get a well-paid job, they realised that I had to follow
my dream and helped me all they could, which I’ll always be very thankful for. Now they are
proud to tell all of their friends about the latest hit I’ve danced in and they absolutely love
seeing me on TV!

B I applied to drama school even though I knew that competition was intense for creative
courses like drama, art and photography. I was determined to follow my dream and was
lucky enough to have a lot of family support, which was invaluable. I was aware that I was
fortunate as two of my friends ended up choosing to study a subject their heart wasn’t set
on, just for the sake of their parents. I did my best to get a lot of practical acting experience
in my last years at school because I knew this would help me develop my talent and support
my applications. I have fond memories of school productions. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage
to get any offers when I finished school and was forced to take a gap year and work to save
money. However, one day I got a phone call confirming a place at my preferred drama
school. The last year of uncertainty was suddenly all worthwhile.

C By the time I reached the age of seventeen, I was already an accomplished classical music
singer and piano player, so the logical step after school was to follow a career in
performance. In fact, I already had a lot of invaluable experience of performing in classical
concerts around the country. Luckily, Mum and Dad recognised my gift and were keen for
me to go to a classical music school. They must have been disappointed when I informed
them that I’d been accepted on a university course called Theatre and Performance, as they
didn’t see where it would lead. At first, they had wrongly thought I’d chosen it because I’d
been rejected from music school! In my view, it would keep many more doors open,
focusing on encouraging us to become independent, creative leaders as well as training us to
be professional performers. I’m now working in industry in a marketing job and at the
weekends I manage my own choir!

D When I was at school, I was never really attracted to art. Looking back, I suppose one
reason for this must have been that I lacked self-confidence. Although my classmates all
wished they could draw and paint like I could, I was completely unaware of the fact I was,
without a doubt, gifted. However, with the passage of time I began to look at art differently,
so much so that I decided to study Fine Arts at university. I enjoyed my first year, but after
that I started to worry about how I was going to pay off my student debt, as there was no
clear career path for graduates in my area. One day, I booked a meeting with the careers
officer, who persuaded me not to give up and explained I could consider studying something
else afterwards to enhance my career prospects. When I graduated, I studied a Computer
Studies course and am now a web designer!

Which writer A–D … 1 had concerns about money? ___

2 wasn’t taken seriously about their ambition at first? ___

3 was initially unsuccessful? ___

4 didn’t realise they had a talent? ___

5 had parents who didn’t understand their choice of course? ___ ___ / 10

2 Read the article. Match sentences A–F with gaps 1–5 in the text. There is one extra
sentence. School’s out!

Hundreds of thousands of school students didn’t go to school last Friday so they could take
part in demonstrations around the country to call attention to the climate crisis, which some
of them allege is overlooked by businesses and some important politicians. 1 ___ They want
to show the world how much they care about climate change and aim to focus everyone’s
attention on what the country’s political parties propose to do about this question. These
protests were part of a global climate strike by many thousands of young people in over 150
countries around the world, which were inspired back in 2018 by a Swedish teenager, Greta
Thunberg. 2 ___ Greta became a teenage legend after she spent a week protesting for
climate change outside the Swedish Parliament. Little did the fifteen-year-old realise at the
time that her heartwarming protest had already hit the headlines and gone viral, not only
because of her demonstration, but also because she was breaking the law. She was only
fifteen at the time and should have been at school! The week before Friday’s school walk
out, there had been more concerning news released about the climate crisis. Some leading
scientists had warned that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the world to undo the
damage that has already been done to the climate. 3 ___ The organisations which helped
plan last week’s student action agreed, and drew attention to the importance to acting in
the very near future. Children and young people around the world are trying to get across
the same message. Among protesters in the UK was twelve-year-old Katy, who travelled
from Cambridge to attend a demonstration in central London on Friday with her older sister
Mel and father Richard. Katy told us, ‘It’s not fair. The results of climate change are going to
affect my generation, who won’t know what a snow fox is!’ Her sister added, ‘All the kids in
my school know about this. Why don’t adults do something? We don’t understand.’
Although the Friday demonstrations are part of a youth movement, it isn’t just the young
who attend these events. 4 ___ Katy and Mel’s father, Richard, told us, ‘Parents like me have
gone along firstly because we believe in our children’s right to have a say in society. They
need to know they can make a difference. They need to know that they can change the
world for the better.’ He added that the younger generation has helped raise their parents’
awareness of the importance of trying to stop climate change, and of doing it immediately.
Perhaps unbelievably, a recent survey shows that a small majority of teachers are in favour
of pupils skipping class to support a cause they believe in by going on a protest or march, or
by volunteering. 5 ___ They also mentioned that under no circumstances should children
leave school alone for any reason, in order to protect their safety. Head teacher Margaret
Walsh commented, ‘We would prefer to urge our students to talk to us about activities
which they can organise in school to draw attention to important topical issues such as the
climate crisis. They are most welcome to put in this kind of request’.

A However, they consider it is a great way of raising students’ awareness of how they can
make a difference to the world.

B Young activists like her believe that world leaders understand the urgency of the situation,
but do little to implement change.

C They revealed that there had never been such a high concentration of greenhouse gases in
our planet’s atmosphere.

D However, head teachers think it is harmful for children to miss their lessons.

E While the majority of attendees are children, teens and young adults, older family
members often accompany them to provide support and to ensure their safety.

F Rarely has such a large-scale protest by young campaigners longing for change been seen.
___ /
10

3 Complete the text with one word in each gap.

Yesterday mum asked me, ‘Have you decided which degree you are going to apply for yet? 0
Unless you hurry up, you’ll be too late!’ I’m still in a dilemma. In fact, I don’t have a
______________! If I had a better idea of the kind of career to pursue, my decision would be
much easier. On the one hand, I would like to work for a charity. However, if I follow a career
in that area, I ______________ never, ever earn much money. I think that would
______________ its toll on me in the end. My dad says he didn’t know what course to
choose when he left school either. He eventually decided to study business, but now he
thinks he ______________ have gone to acting school! That one choice has affected his
whole life. I ______________ I knew what to do!

/10
READING COMPREHENSION TEST A NAME:

1 Read the texts. For questions 1–5, choose from texts A–D. You may choose the texts
more than once.

A I grew up dreaming of becoming an actor. Hoping I’d grow out of this phase, my parents
didn’t actively discourage me from taking part in our school plays that might have been a bit
cheesy in places, but were certainly entertaining. When I was in my final year at school, I
applied for a place on a performing arts course, as I thought it would give me the chance to
learn new skills. I’ll never forget my father’s face when I told him. He couldn’t hide his
surprise as he had thought I’d study accountancy or business like my friends. He was
genuinely concerned as he didn’t want me to get a worthless, in his eyes, qualification that
would lead nowhere except to a lifetime of worrying about finances. However, now both of
my parents are proud to tell all of their friends about the latest high profile show I’ve danced
in!

B When I applied to drama school, I was well aware that competition was intense for
creative courses like design, art and media studies. Although the popularity of arts and
humanities subjects in general is decreasing around the world, there are still many more
applicants than places, especially for drama school. This didn’t stop me, as I knew acting was
my vocation. Mum and Dad were happy to go along with my decisions as they knew I was
responsible and believed in me. Once I knew I wanted to follow a course that would enable
me to get an agent, I did my best to get as much practical acting experience as I could
because I knew this would help my applications. Doing auditions along with constant
rejections became part of my daily life until one day I got a phone call confirming a place at
my preferred drama school. What a magic moment!

C When I was seventeen, I was already an accomplished piano player and classical music
singer, so the logical step after school was to follow a career in performance. Not only did
the head teacher at my school consider music to be a worthwhile career, but she also
recognised that I already had a lot of invaluable performance experience at a high level and
had won a national music competition, so she supported me all the way. I think Mum and
Dad would have preferred me to go to a classical music school and concentrate on the piano.
It must have been hard for them not to voice their opinion when I announced that I’d been
accepted on a university course called Theatre and Performance. In my view, it would keep
many doors open, focussing on encouraging students to become independent, creative
leaders while simultaneously training us to be professional performers. I’m now working in
industry as a marketer!

D My passion at school was painting. Having talked over my career ideas for months with my
family, I finally decided to study Fine Arts at university. I have to admit that it could partly
have been because of my grandma. Gran, an accomplished artist, was very keen for me to
use my natural skills and actively encouraged me to study a degree subject which would
develop them. I enjoyed the first year of my course, but then I started to worry about the
reality of working in the arts industry and, more importantly, if I’d be able to earn a living
and pay off my student debt! I wished I’d thought this through better before I applied. One
day, I went along to the careers advisory service, where I was persuaded not to drop out and
told I could consider studying something else afterwards to complement it. When I
graduated, I studied to be a programmer and am now a multimedia designer!

Which writer A–D … 1 considered giving up their studies? ___

2 mentions a potential downside to a career? ___

3 refers to failure? ___

4 was influenced by a family member? ___

5 came first in an important event? ___ ___ / 10

2 Read the article. Match sentences A–F with gaps 1–5 in the text. There is one extra
sentence. Student power

Hundreds of thousands of school students left their classrooms yesterday in order to take
part in country-wide demonstrations to draw attention to the climate crisis, which some of
them claim is often ignored by industry and some world leaders. 1 ___ These teenagers
intend to show the world how much they care about climate change and aim to focus
citizens’ attention on what the major political parties are doing or, rather, aren’t doing,
about this important issue. These demonstrations were part of a global climate strike by tens
of thousands of young people in over than 150 countries around the world inspired by the
Swedish teenager, Greta Thunberg, back in 2018. Teenagers like Greta still feel very
frustrated by what they see as a lack of action on the part of world leaders, who tell youth
movements that they understand the urgency of the situation yet, according to the
protesters, do little to help. Greta showed teenagers just how influential they could be. She
started off by spending a week protesting outside the Swedish Parliament. 2 ___ This
happened not only because of her demonstration, but also because she was breaking the
law. She was only fifteen at the time and should have been at school! Friday’s events
followed more worrying news regarding the climate crisis. 3 ___ They revealed that never
had there been such a high concentration of greenhouse gases in our planet’s atmosphere.
The organisations which helped plan yesterday’s student action, agreed, and drew attention
to the importance of the next few years. School age students all over the world are trying to
get across the same message. Among protesters in the UK was thirteen-year-old Charlie,
who travelled from the north to attend a demonstration in central London on Friday with his
sister Jayne and father Greg. Charlie told us, ‘It’s not fair. The results of climate change are
going to affect my generation, who won’t know what a polar bear is!’ His sibling added, ‘All
the kids in my school know about this. Why don’t adults do something? We don’t get it.’
Theoretically, the Friday demonstrations are part of a youth movement. 4 ___ Charlie and
Jayne’s father told us, ‘People like me have gone along because we believe in our children’s
right to have a say in society. They need to know they can make a difference. They need to
know that they can change the world for the better.’ He added that the younger generation
has helped raise their parents’ awareness of the importance of trying to stop climate change,
and of doing it immediately. So, what do schools have to say about this? According to a
recent survey, a small majority of teachers are in favour of pupils missing lessons to support
a cause they believe in by going on a protest or march, or by volunteering. However, school
leaders disagreed. 5 ___ An experienced head teacher, David Smith, said, ‘We would prefer
to urge our students to talk to us about activities which they can organise in school to draw
attention to important topical issues such as the climate crisis. They are most welcome to
put in this kind of request’.

A Although the majority of attendees at these events are young people, there are an
increasing number of adults, too.

B They also commented that under no circumstances should children leave school
unaccompanied as it could be dangerous.

C Never has such a large-scale protest by young people determined to make their voice
heard been seen.

D Some of these politicians have seized a great opportunity to avoid confrontation and to
expose their secret.

E The previous week, some scientists had warned that it would be difficult, if not impossible,
for the world to undo the damage to the climate that has already been done.

F The teenage activist hadn’t been sitting there long before her heartwarming protest hit the
headlines and went viral. ___ / 10

3 Complete the text with one word in each gap.

It’s very important to make the right choice when choosing a university course. No one
wants to look back in ten years’ time and wish they 0 had studied something else! You
should never go ahead with an application ______________ you are sure it’s the right
course for you. Some school leavers decide to take a gap year. This is a good idea, as it will
give you plenty of time to ______________ your options. Some students I interviewed told
me that if they hadn’t done this, they could easily ______________ made the wrong
decision. There are lots of interesting things you can do with your time. Never forget how
much is at ______________. Whatever you decide now will determine what kind of career
you pursue! I hope that none of my readers will ever think, ‘If ______________ I had studied
something different!’ ____/10