Cambridge English: Advanced

MET 3 - Exam 2
 Reading and Use of English
Part 1
For questions 1 – 8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is
an example at the beginning (0).

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Example:
0 A represents B exercises C performs D acts

0 A B C D

Stunt woman for a day

Lara Croft, the heroine in Tomb Raider, flies through the air and (0) a range of impressive movements.

Somehow, Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, who plays Lara Croft, (1) it look easy. She did most of the stunts

herself, quite a rare (2) nowadays.

I wanted to try something like that too, so was thrilled to hear about a new stunt school where anyone could

(3) a go. Full of excitement, I made my (4) to the Real Action Stunt Academy. Inside it looked like

a (5) between a children’s playground and a work of modern art. Training began with a trampoline session

designed to help me (6) how to fall safely. Then I had to jump off a high platform and grab a trapeze bar

in mid-air. I felt (7) stiff. The sight of a safety net helped me (8) the worst of my fears, however,

and by the end of the day I had even learned how to fall downstairs safely. I know I’ll never be Lara Croft, though.

1 A gets B finds C causes D makes

2 A matter B phenomenon C incident D appearance

3 A try B give C have D take

4 A track B path C route D way

5 A blend B stew C cross D combination

6 A figure out B run down C shape up D follow through

7 A frightened B scared C terrified D afraid

8 A overstep B overrule C overcome D overload

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 Part 2
For questions 9 – 16, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word
in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.

Example: 0 H A V E
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Music makers

For many years, some of the world’s leading jazz musicians (0) gathered in one of Italy’s premier seaside

regions to play, teach and socialise. (9) this were all, it would be the ultimate jazz festival, but it is also

home for three weeks to (10) than 500 young musicians from 25 countries. Performers from the world’s

top jazz bands are (11) hand to teach the youngsters, helping them master traditional New Orleans jazz

tunes or learn new fusion genres.

The festival is the creation of a Polish jazz enthusiast, Marcin Krajewski, (12) for many years was a radio DJ.

He wanted to run his own festival and, (13) some of the best contacts in the business, it was (14)

hard to find a suitable location, with rich villa owners keen to open their houses to musical celebrities. Krajewski

is an easy-going, charming man, (15) he has strong opinions. (16) it comes to the quality of

performance at the festival, he has the very highest standards..

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 Part 3
For questions 17 – 24, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to
form a word that fits in the gap in the same line. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Write your answers IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.

Example: 0 T E C H N O L O G I C A L

Teenagers in the house

People who fear that three decades of rapid (0) advances TECHNOLOGY
have produced a generation of lazy and (17) internet HELP
addicts will be comforted by a survey showing that some teenagers
are more adept (18) compared to previous generations. DOMESTIC
Nearly 60% of parents said that their teenagers could look after
themselves, agreeing with the statement that ‘My son/daughter
can organize a meal and cook it’. Those parents with children aged
14 – 18 were more likely to be in (19) with this. The aim of AGREE
the survey was to (20) the attitude of parents towards their VALUE
teenagers.

1,000 parents were asked if they agree with various views on

(21) teenage behaviour and lifestyles in the 21st century. TYPE
In the (22) of responses it was found that, while teenagers ANALYSE
regarded the weekend as a time of (23) , most parents RELAX
considered it a time for studying or meeting family. However, almost
everyone agreed that it’s useful to have a teenager because of their
seemingly innate (24) to know how the TV and computers ABLE
work.

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 Part 4
For questions 25 – 30, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence,
using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between three and six words,
including the word given. Here is an example (0).

Example:

0 I don’t feel like walking all the way into town.

MOOD

I’m walking all the way into town.

The gap can be filled with the words ‘not in the mood for’, so you write:

Example: 0 NOT IN THE MOOD FOR

Write only the missing words IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.

25 James ignored the ‘Danger’ sign.

NOTICE
James the ‘Danger’ sign.

26 The director said that she wouldn’t tolerate her employees being late any longer.
PUT
‘I’m not going from my employees anymore,’ said the director.

27 I know Paul will become a great violin player one day.

MATTER
I’m sure it’s only Paul develops into a great violin player.

28 Nobody ever told me that my insurance cover was only valid in Europe.
WAS
At no that my insurance cover was only valid in Europe.

29 David said it takes nearly ten minutes to walk there, but I’m sure he’s wrong.
MUST
David said it takes nearly ten minutes to walk there but he
a mistake.

30 I last wrote to Julia over a year ago.

TOUCH
I with Julia since some time last year.

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 Part 5
You are going to read a newspaper article. For questions 31 – 36, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which
you think fits best according to the text.

LIFE THROUGH A LENS

Angela Woods explores the role of the camera in life to find themselves pictured alongside politicians and
today. celebrities. Journalists tend to look terrible in pictures,
but editors believe this makes them more appealingly
Nowadays most of us own a camera of some kind
real than airbrushed celebrities. They are marketed as
and their use is no longer reserved for holidays and
normal people whom readers are meant to identify
children’s birthdays; the modern photographer has
with, though they are usually far from normal. Some
more grandiose ambitions. The desire to capture
interpret this trend as a sign that journalists are more
line 07 special moments for posterity persists, but the brief
valued now, but the reality is that we have become low-
has been extended. Every moment seems special
grade operatives rather than creatives. Words are now
and, as a result, amateur snappers are busier than the
used to illustrate the pictures rather than the other way
professionals. Whether we’re taking pictures of a hotel
round.
sink for a travellers’ website or beating the paparazzi
to a blurry shot of a minor celebrity in the street, we’re Magazines and newspapers with more and bigger
constantly snapping rather than looking. photos in them appear to suit young people’s
enthusiasm for photography. Most of my younger
Yet somehow, the images lack significance. In the past,
friends have hundreds of photos on their phones.
our favourite photos went beyond surface likeness
The interesting thing is that they all seem attracted to
and captured the essence of a person or place. And
subjects that would once have been deemed unworthy
as well as bearing witness, photography once raised
of being photographed. Avoiding clichés seems to be
consciousness. When I was growing up, photographs
the impulse, though whether this is being achieved
often seemed more powerful and persuasive than
must be in question if they are all doing the same thing.
words. The ones I’ve amassed on my hard drive in
the last few years seem vacuous by comparison. My A colleague of mine recently showed me how he’d
holiday snaps may be neatly composed following photographed a rather unpalatable plate of meatballs,
readily available expert advice, but they feel blank. rather than the grand old architecture of a restaurant.
The Florida sunsets seem like photographic clichés. This was followed by his snaps of a holiday in Yosemite
The images of African landscapes speak blandly of National Park in the USA. Not bothering with the
a predictable taste for going off the beaten track in spectacular mountain scenery, he had photographed
search of the ultimate photographic experience. signs about not feeding the wild bears. As he showed
them to me, I felt I had seen them before somewhere.
And what of the other side of the coin: being
photographed ourselves? As a child and teenager, if I often wonder what the everpresent lens is doing to
it had been acceptable, I would have lashed out when my children and their generation. Kids’ TV programmes
someone pointed a camera at me. The resulting pictures encourage children to send in photos of their parents in
would have been more authentic than those where I undignified positions or displaying a dubious sense of line 81
tried to cover up my horror of being photographed. I style, and reality programmes dominate TV schedules.
would strive to look deep, instead of angry, and gaze Adults might see through such things with a smug sense line 83
into the middle distance. Refusing to meet the camera’s of detachment, but we don’t know what the long-term
gaze was an attempt to retain control over how I was effects on younger minds might be. Doesn’t constant
portrayed. Having since read the great Roland Barthes’ snapping reduce spontanaeity? The world gets worn
book, Camera Lucida, I understand better what I was out by being photographed and its inhabitants, like me,
up to. Barthes shared my desire to look intelligent in do as well. Will my kids end up deeply jaded too, or line 88
photos and he hoped his expression would convey because they are growing up behind and in front of
‘an amused awareness of the photographic process’. the camera, will they have a natural immunity to it? It
Whether we succeeded, the underlying urge was remains to be seen.
surely to prevent the camera gaining possession of our
identities.
When I first started in journalism, the writer’s photo at
the head of an article was invariably tiny. Things have
changed, however. Newspapers and magazines are
now full of unattractive people looking wryly amused

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 31 What do the words ‘the brief’ in line 07 refer to?
A the number of people possessing cameras
B the things people take photographs of
C the convenience of modern cameras
D the willingness to be photographed

32 What does the writer say about herself as a photographer?

A She doesn’t like to take lots of pictures.
B She doesn’t know what makes a good picture.
C She doesn’t have interesting subjects to take pictures of.
D She doesn’t come up with original ideas for her pictures.

33 What does the writer say about being photographed when she was younger?
A She realized how powerful she could be.
B She used to copy the example of a well-known writer.
C She felt a need to protect herself.
D She found it difficult to hide her true feelings.

34 According to the writer, the tendency for newspapers to print more photos of journalists
A helps newspapers to appear more attractive.
B makes journalists feel more vulnerable.
C appeals to a natural desire for attention.
D reduces the status of journalists.

35 In the sixth paragraph, the writer is

A illustrating a point.
B introducing a new subject.
C summarising an argument.
D expressing a personal opinion.

36 Which word is used to describe the way the writer feels?

A undignified (line 81)
B dubious (line 81)
C smug (line 83)
D jaded (line 88)

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 Part 6
You are going to read four extracts from articles by academics on cosmetic surgery. For questions 37 – 40,
choose from the academics (A – D). The academics may be chosen more than once.

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

According to the extracts, which academic

has a similar opinion to A on whether people are judged by their appearance? 37

has a different opinion from B on whether cosmetic surgery gives some people an unfair
advantage in life? 38

has a similar view to D on whether having cosmetic surgery is psychologically damaging? 39

has a different view to all the others on whether cosmetic surgery should be banned? 40

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 Cosmetic surgery
A

Cosmetic, or aesthetic, surgery is designed to alter a person’s appearance to achieve what they themselves
perceive as a more attractive look. It should not be confused with reconstructive plastic surgery following
injury or illness, or surgery designed to alleviate other physical symptoms. Nevertheless, what all these
forms of surgery have in common is their undeniably beneficial effect on the patient’s long-term morale.
Calls for cosmetic procedures to be made illegal invariably fail to take this positive impact into account,
and, I believe, should therefore be ignored. Moreover, it seems to me that, however deplorable, in many
walks of life, appearance matters. This, unfortunately, applies to both men and women, and is reflected in
an increasing demand for such surgery – supplied by practitioners with varying degrees of competence.
In my opinion, it is the lack of reliable oversight, particularly for what are considered relatively minor
operations, that is of most concern.

There is a sizeable body of opinion behind the view that the increasing popularity of cosmetic surgery with
both men and women is a problem that can only be adequately dealt with by means of an outright ban. I
would, however, beg to differ. Not because I believe there is anything to say for such procedures, or think
they confer any significant or unmerited advantages to those that undergo them. It is more that history
has shown, time and again, that suppressing anything many people desire, however hazardous, simply
drives the problem underground. Surely it is preferable for governments to use the regulatory powers at
their disposal to ensure that all such surgery is carried out in safe environments by qualified practitioners.
This is not to say that everything possible should not be done to discourage anyone considering cosmetic
surgery, given the harm it can ultimately do to a person’s self-esteem.

The demand for cosmetic surgery is growing in many parts of the world, and the causes are various. In
my view, this growth is primarily evidence of men and women’s drive to differentiate themselves from
their peers, and in this case to give themselves an entirely undeserved edge over others. After all, access
to these procedures is solely determined by the ability to afford it. It is a mistake, but one often made,
to value anyone for their looks rather than their personality and skills. Anything that can be done to
counteract this superficiality, inherent in too many cultures, would be welcome. Moreover, I would argue
that the risks involved in the surgery are reason enough for it to be forbidden by law. Although vociferous
objections would no doubt be raised to such a measure, some freedoms come at too high a price, both
for individuals and society.

Objections raised to the availability of cosmetic surgery nowadays tend to assume that the impressions
we form of one another depend almost entirely on our faces. This seems over-simplistic, at the very least.
The boost to confidence and inner happiness that so often results for patients following these procedures
is reason enough to welcome the advances constantly being made in the field. Whereas it used to be a
luxury only accessible to the privileged few, it is currently anything but. And it is simply wrong to assert
that looking the way one wishes to somehow means one will be given preferential treatment one would
not otherwise be entitled to. Calls for the prohibition of cosmetic surgery may be well-intentioned, but are
clearly misguided, and there is no evidence that any of the risks outweigh the benefits. In fact, I would
argue that the opposite is true.

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 Part 7
You are going to read an extract from a magazine article. Six paragraphs have been removed from the
extract. Choose from the paragraphs A – G the one which fits each gap (41 – 46). There is one extra
paragraph which you do not need to use. Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

Keeping up with the new English

The internet is destroying the English language. Well, isn’t it? English as we used to know it was not the misspelt
English of email communication. It was not the manic shouting in the online chat room. And it was certainly not
the abbreviations and symbols of many text messages.

41 44

Dr David Crystal, honorary professor of linguistics at Such symbols and abbreviations placed inside angled
the University of Wales in Bangor, thinks the right brackets are common in internet chat rooms, where
choice is obvious. ‘You can’t avoid Weblish (as the new one of the most common solecisms is the misuse of the
English has been described), for the simple reason that acronym LOL. This generally stands for Laughing Out
whenever a new variety of language comes along, it Loud to indicate an appreciative reaction, yet newbies
inevitably impacts on the language as a whole,’ he (internet novices) tend to assume it means Lots of Love.
says. ‘These things won’t be limited to internet nerds, If you are telling someone how sad you are about the
they’ll come to all of us.’ You could argue that they pet hamster going missing, it would be better not to
already have. sign off with LOL.

42 45

It remains a source of change, of course. It’s just that The trouble with keeping up with the new English is
these days, as Crystal points out: ‘New technology is not just new words like those derived from acronyms
going round the world more rapidly than it ever could but also that we use old words in new ways. In the
have done before. In the past, it would take years for a past, if someone said they didn’t have Windows, you
word to become common currency; these days, a word would have had to assume they lived in a cave.
can make it into a dictionary in a few months. So the
main impact of the internet lies not in the number of 46
extra words that have come in, but in the speed with
which they are spread.’ In other words, a piece of Should we be worried by things like this? Not if you
internet jargon unfamiliar to you today may be a part believe David Crystal. ‘Every new technology has
of common speech tomorrow. brought its prophets of doom,’ he says. ‘The internet is
no exception. Language consists of dozens of different
43 styles; I could speak to you in any one of them. This is
not to say that I have lost my identity simply because I
Yet there is more to this new English than vocabulary, can switch into one or another.’
and text messages do little more than reduce
communication to the smallest number of keystrokes
possible – albeit with clever use of sound-alike words
and numerals, as in UR2good2B4gotten (You are too
good to be forgotten). It is more useful to look at the
language used in email.

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 A 
For example, the opening salutation ‘Hi’ is E 
True, the English language is changing, and
replacing the standard ‘Dear’, even in relatively fast. So we all have a decision to make: either
formal communications. Senders may also to bury our heads in the sand, or embrace the
incorporate ‘emoticons’ – little faces made from new English, concede that the growth of the
punctuation marks – to emphasise the true language is inescapable and become willing
sense of their messages. masters, rather than sulky victims, of its
21st-century possibilities.
B 
Spellings are changing as well as meanings. Not
only is text-messaging playing havoc with verbs F 
To help with this, internet dictionaries explain
by removing vowels (hvc wth vrbs), but the the meaning of words such as ‘netiquette’. And
conventions of email communication place little the BBC and TransWorld joined forces to publish
premium on correct spelling. Most intriguingly, a book called The Joy of Text, reflecting the
some words are now intentionally misspelt, like main stream popularity of this phenomenon.
xtreme (extreme) or luv (love).
G 
It is worth saying that such computer acronyms
C 
This is all happening at high speed, and if you have yet to be accepted in everyday speech.
do not know the difference between a cookie Some do, however, seem to go in and out of
and malware, or between a worm and a wiki, fashion in conversation. LOL and OMG (Oh
the chances are that you are being left behind. My God!) are sometimes used but who knows
Yet technology has long been responsible for for how long?
new vocabulary entering the English language.

D 
Willingness to adapt – this is the key. The
internet has not destroyed the English language,
nor is it likely to. If we are to stay on top of
our language, however, it makes sense to try to
keep abreast of developments rather than run
them down.

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 Part 8
You are going to read reviews of four science fiction films. For questions 47 – 56, choose from the reviews
(A – D). The reviews may be chosen more than once.

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

About which of the films is the following stated?

The storyline is largely irrelevant. 47

One of the leading actors gives an outstanding performance. 48

The true nature of a leading character is disputed. 49

Its characters have unremarkable lifestyles. 50

There is fierce debate about what it means. 51

It’s often voted one of the best science fiction movies in history. 52

Key features of the film are scientifically unconvincing. 53

It poses questions that humans have always asked themselves. 54

One scene still shocks viewers today. 55

Some of the dialogue makes little sense. 56

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 Great science fiction films
Terry Stevens reviews four great science fiction films.
A C
Blade Runner (1982) Star Wars (1977)
Whether you prefer the original, rather theatrical It is almost impossible to argue against the inclusion
release or the director’s cut of a few years later, of Star Wars or its rather darker sequel Empire Strikes
Blade Runner is perennially placed in opinion polls Back, in any list of top science fiction movies.
among the top five movies ever made in the genre. Essentially westerns set in space, they cover the
Directed by Ridley Scott, the film revolves around universal themes of good versus evil, while making
Harrison Ford’s policeman, Rick Deckard, and his the leading actors Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill
hunt for four cloned humans, known as replicants, and Carrie Fisher deliver lines of mind-boggling
in an authoritarian city state sometime in the future. absurdity on a regular basis. The epic saga revolves
Replicants have been declared illegal and Deckard around a battle between an authoritarian Empire
is a ‘blade runner’, a specialist in exterminating led by the Emperor and his part-human, part-
them. Adding to the interest is the issue of whether machine henchman Darth Vader on one side, and
Deckard himself is a replicant. This is never clearly a small group of rebels on the other. The emphasis,
resolved in the film, and fans continue to disagree however, is not on exploring deeper problems of
over this point. When it first came out, the reception the human condition. Nor, unlike some film-makers,
was muted, but it has grown in popularity and critics do the creators of Star Wars trouble themselves with
now lavish praise on it. ‘It was groundbreaking in rooting their creations in the normal laws of physics;
some ways,’ says one prominent American writer on the force-wielding Jedi fight with theoretically
film, ‘but what it’s really about is something we’ve impossible light sabers and light-speed travel takes
been interested in since the beginning of history: place in an implausible ‘hyperspace’. But the first two
What is it to be human? That’s what makes it truly Star Wars films have been the supreme blockbusters
great.’ and paved the way in creating franchises for toys,
games and replicas that no major science fiction
film can do without nowadays.

B D
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Alien (1979)
One of the most controversial films of any genre, Alien is often remembered for the moment when
2001: A Space Odyssey came from a collaboration an alien creature bursts out through the chest of
between the director, Stanley Kubrick, and the one of the crew members on the spaceship. This
science fiction writer, Arthur C Clarke. It’s not an easy iconic moment has the power to unnerve even
film to sum up. The plot is mostly beside the point. It the most cynical of contemporary audiences.
involves a government cover-up of something called The film has a lot more to it than that however. It
the Monolith, and a malfunctioning computer’s is essentially an expertly made horror story set
efforts to preserve the integrity of a space mission. on board a spaceship. The alien life form which
Almost independently of this are separate strands invades the spaceship is very sinister but it is made
dealing with human evolution from prehistoric times all the more so by the contrast with the portrayal of
to the space age. Many have attempted to try the ship’s crew. They are a bunch of very average
and pin down this work with explanations about its people who sit around eating pizza, playing cards
deeper significance and purpose, and to this day and getting bored. This contrast between the
there are heated exchanges about this. What stays crew’s very mundane existence and the sheer
in the mind, though, is the impact the film has on awfulness of the alien is a very powerful one. Very
the senses. It has a soundtrack of often dissonant striking too is Sigourney Weaver’s portrayal of the
classical music played so loud that it often interferes reluctant hero Ellen Ripley. She is a compelling
with what characters say. It is its astonishing visual screen presence in this movie and it established
style, however, that has probably had more lasting her as one of the top film actresses of her time.
influence than anything else about it.

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