lecturas para responder

1. John__ to Mary now (talk) 2. I___ television every night. (watch) 3. The children usually ____ to bed at nine o'clock. (go) 4. ___ a book at the moment?. (Richard read) 5. They ___ to the theatre very often. (not go) 6. I __ at the moment. (not study) 7. I __ English, although I ___ at the moment. (not speak) / (study) 8. I ___ in Valencia, though I ___ in Madrid at the moment. (live) / (stay) 9. I __ in a hotel at the moment, although I my own apartment. (stay) / (have) 10. She___ from Chile, though she___ in New York just now. (come) / (live) Iford Manor has been described as one of the most stunning concert venues in the West Country. Throughout high summer, Iford Arts stages an internationally renowned festival in a breathtakingly beautiful pastoral setting. Operatic performances are staged in-the-round in the intimate surroundings of the Italianate Cloister, which could not be more perfect in terms of scale and style. While the classical backdrop could hardly be more fitting, the real delight for our audiences is that, as the sky turns purple overhead, the first stars appear and the first heady notes resound across the countryside, no-one is seated less than twenty feet from the performers. The opportunity for a relaxing pre-show picnic in our tranquil gardens overlooking the meandering River Frome will complete an already magical experience. Iford Arts, a registered charity promoting the appreciation of performing arts in the west of England, aims to benefit the local community by engaging young professional artists and stimulating young people’s enjoyment of being involved in live performances. We hope to support young musicians in their career development by encouraging them to develop repertoire and perform to a supportive audience and providing the exquisite environment in which to do so. Iford Arts does not receive any public subsidies, relying on vital private contributions. We offer various levels of private patronage and corporate sponsorship, each providing a range of privileges such as priority booking. 1-What aspect of Iford Manor is emphasized in the first paragraph? a-the Italian-style architecture b-the countryside location c- the seating arrangements d-the quality of the music 2-What is the main purpose in the second paragraph? a-To describe the history of the performances b-To encourage young musicians to perform at the Manor c-To encourage people to donate to the charity d-To inform people about how they can be involved in charity work 3- In the second paragraph, why does the character mention the ‘romantic novels where the entrapped heroine finds her freedom and salvation through music’? a-Because she envies the heroines’ musical talent b-Because she feels in a similar position to these heroines c-Because the heroine’s experiences contrast strongly with her own d-Because she wishes that music will give her a similar sense of freedom 4- Why does the character in the text ‘hammer out that lullaby’ (last paragraph )? a-She wishes to create disruption in the house. b-She dislikes the music of this classical composer. c-She is angry because she would rather be outside. d-She is attempting to express herself through music 5- What does the study seek to do? a-Investigate an issue which is already widely accepted b- Prove a hypothesis which may revolutionise teaching c-Challenge a popular idea d-Improve the literacy skills in two neighbouring schools Some years ago, my husband and I went to stay with our friend, John, at a ‘pousada’ (guest house) he had opened in Party, a small town in Brazil. John was going to have his 30th birthday after we left and to celebrate this event, we told him we would like to take him out somewhere special for a meal. He said he knew just the place and duly made all the arrangements. On the date set, we parked and suddenly Senior Roberto, the owner of the restaurant, appeared out of the darkness clutching a candle in a jam jar. He led us up the hillside into the darkness along a well lit, but steep, winding path which seemed to fall away. We had no idea where we were going and held each others’ hands. We suddenly realized the restaurant was above us and as we arrived, we were introduced to Senior Roberto’s wife and daughter, who stood shyly in the makeshift kitchen waiting to serve the food. The restaurant itself was no less magical than the trip up, with two small tables set with banana leaves for place mats and an arrangement of fabulous tropical flowers. It quickly became apparent that we were the only guests and would be served dishes from food bought fresh at market and selected by the family, so after chatting briefly, Senhor Roberto served the first course, which was some kind of Brazilian river fish served with fried banana. More delights followed and the main course and high point of the meal was ‘Bobo de camarao’, a dish of prawns served inside a baked pumpkin. It was a remarkable meal, and what I remember was how Senhor Roberto and his family had served and prepared the meal with a love of their local produce. 1-Why did the writer want to take John out for a meal? A to celebrate his birthday B- to commemorate a special event in the town C to celebrate seeing each other again 2 How does the writer describe the pathway to the restaurant? A difficult B surprising C busy John Prince, famous dancer and choreographer, gives advice on how to succeed in a career in the arts. I asked John how he got started and what requirements there are. "Well, to be a professional dancer it's useful to have had acting lessons or some background in drama. If you want to succeed in musical theatre you have to have a good singing voice as well. When you approach an agent you should take a portfolio with your CV, your statistics sheet and some good photos and reviews of past performances. You'll need dance clothes, ballet shoes, tap shoes, and even roller skates depending on what kind of show you are going to go for." 1 "Of course, you need to be extremely fit if you want to be a professional dancer. I dance or move about for about six hours a day. There are great health benefits to being a dancer. I can eat a lot of pasta without gaining weight because dancing increases your metabolism so much." 2 John has a very busy schedule in the next few months. He took time out to speak to me today from the making of a pop video to promote N-ergy's latest record. "I choreographed the dance routine for the boys and they only had 2 days in which to learn it! I am going to be working on a video for another well known band - but that's top secret. Next month I'll be touring Spain in a production of a musical that was written by a friend of mine, Michaela Evans. 3 As for the future, I've come to realise that I would never be content to be just a chorus dancer - I'm too much of an individual for that. Like all artists I'd love to become a household name by writing and choreographing my own musicals." John was born in Jamaica to a Jamaican father and a Scottish mother but the family emigrated to England 20 years ago. "I have a little sister I adore, who is also training to be a dancer." How does it feel to have someone else following in your footsteps? 4 Has he much more to learn, I wondered. "I've spent an incredible amount of my life training to get where I am. I went to college for two years in England, I trained for six months in Paris and about eight months in America. But you never really stop training or learning your art." 5 So, would you say it's been plain sailing? "I feel I've been lucky to a degree; many people hit problems breaking into the arts. It can be a vicious circle really. You can't become a member of Equity, which is the actors' and dancers' union, without good contracts. and you can't get good contracts without being a member of Equity. My advice to people who want to get into the arts would be to go out into the world, and try everything else first. 6 What has a dance career done for you as a person? "Thanks to dancing, I've visited and performed in 23 countries so far. This has opened my eyes to the world, and I've been able to understand issues like racism and inequality from a wider perspective. 7 "So all in all I'm really happy to be a dancer!" A It's fine, but I try not to give out too much advice as it gets irritating! B And if nothing you like comes out of it, then come back and be an actor or dancer. C Without a strict daily timetable like this you find yourself wasting too much time. D After that it's back to England to start a new term of dance classes. E Hopefully this has enabled me to become a better and more tolerant person as a result. F When it comes to coping with stress, I find that exercise helps me to cope with my problems, so I stay in good shape mentally as well. G Like any profession where you're always travelling, you tend to acquire something new almost every day. H Being fully equipped with all this stuff beforehand makes it easier when you go for auditions. Environmental Concerns Earth is the only (0) ... we know of in the universe that can support human life. (1) ... human activities are making the planet less fit to live on. As the western world (2) ... on consuming two-thirds of the world's resources while half of the world's population do so (3) ... to stay alive we are rapidly destroying the (4) ... resource we have by which all people can survive and prosper. Everywhere fertile soil is (5) ... built on or washed into the sea. Renewable resources are exploited so much that they will never be able to recover (6) ... We discharge pollutants into the atmosphere without any thought of the consequences. As a (7) ... the planet's ability to support people is being (8) ... at the very time when rising human numbers and consumption are (9) ... increasingly heavy demands on it. The Earth's (10) ... resources are there for us to use. We need food, water, air, energy, medicines, warmth, shelter and minerals to (11) ... us fed, comfortable, healthy and active. If we are sensible in how we use the resources they will (12) ... indefinitely. But if we use them wastefully and excessively they will soon run out and everyone will suffer 1 a-Although b-Still c- Yet d- Despite 2 a- continues b- repeats c- carries d- follows 3- a- already b- just c- for d- entirely 4- a- alone b- individual c- lone d- only 5- a- sooner b- neither c- either d- rather Read the text and then type the correct form of the word in CAPITALS to complete the gaps. There is an example at the beginning. Food Production In the not-too-distant past farm animals were able to live (0) NATURAL lives in what we would now term NATURE 'free-range' conditions. Such farming methods however, were not able to supply the rapidly growing (1) ... POPULATE of the world and the increasing demands on food (2) ... In order to cope with this rising demand,factory CONSUME farming methods were introduced along with the (3) ... DEVELOP of genetically engineered (4) ... hormones, which GROW resulted in a massive increase in food (5) ... PRODUCE However, these developments in the use of factory farming and drug (6) ... have led to a widespread TREAT feeling that animals are being caused a lot of distress and that the quality of the food itself suffers as a consequence. Certainly, many people (7) ... with the idea AGREE of keeping animals in one building for their entire (8) ... EXIST and argue that more emphasis should be given to (9) ... ALTERNATE farming methods. A growing number of people are choosing to eat organic food, supporting farmers who use free-range methods, a system which has proved to be both (10) ... and more humane. ECONOMY Dress Code UK companies have received (0) CRITICISM from CRITIC a business forum for what their report refers to as a rather narrow-minded attitude towards the dress code for office workers. This follows a case in which a male (1) ... working in the post room of a EMPLOY large (2) ... in the United Kingdom received a ORGANIZE (3) ... for wearing jeans to work. SUSPEND Whilst the report accepts that there is a need for people dealing with (4) ... to look well dressed, CUSTOM it questions whether employees who work behind the scenes necessarily need to dress formally. The authors of the report made a (5) ... between COMPARE the UK and other European nations where employers seem (6) ... about the need for their CONCERN workers to wear smart clothes in the office. Their (7) ... is based on research that claims ARGUE workers are far more (8) ... when they have the PRODUCT (9) ... to dress in a way that they feel most FREE (10) ... in. COMFORT