FCE Test Online

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ONLINE FCE TESTI. READING

Smooth operator

Sam Myers used to play pop music every morning but now he has one of the countrys mostpopular talk shows, interviewing a range of guests from all walks of life.

1 When ex-disc jockey Sam Myers arrived at Radio 581 as the presenter of the new afternoonshow, critics accused him of being weak and boring. Seven years later, with an award for radiobroadcaster of the year in his hands, hes being praised for his self-confidence, intelligence andwit. So has the presenter changed? Myers is characteristically reflective and careful with hiswords. Clearly Im better at the job than when I started, he says, but I think the criticisms werethe result of arrogance. There was this belief that someone who played pop and rock music in hisprevious job shouldnt now be trying to do a serious programme. But I dont think people believethat now.

2 A job as a light-hearted presenter on a pop radio station seldom guarantees lasting fame andfortune. For many there can be a nasty shock. One minute youre known to millions of younglisteners, the next youre hosting a show on a local radio station that nobody listens to. Everyoneimagines that doing a breakfast show on a national station always leads to better, more

glamorous jobs on television. But only a few make the grade.

3 Interviewing people from so many different professions is a challenge and Sam cannot be anexpert in every field. This means he has to prepare himself for each show by doing three hours ofstudy each night and two hours further preparation in the morning before the show. This canrange from watching a new comedy show to skimming a book on theoretical physics so he caninterview a leading scientist. But what is most striking about him is that being a skilled interviewermeans hes also skilled at being interviewed. Embarrassing questions just arent answered. Whenasked what his weakest area of knowledge to discuss in interviews is, he quickly replies: I

wouldnt be keen to tell you that because its a part of what I do.

4 So if, as he claims, hes neither a journalist nor an expert, what is it that hes good at? Helaughs and resists making the claim that hes not really good at anything. Im good at bringingeverything together, he concedes. I wouldnt say that Im a journalist, because I work with peoplewho actually are journalists, like some of the foreign correspondents I have on the programme.They understand what theyre talking about, theyre astute and concise. Thats what I call real

journalism.

5 It seems that what listeners like about Sam is his easy-going approach. His interviews sound

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more like friendly chats than arguments. I think I have a relaxed style, he admits, but its alsodue to the fact that I present a discussion programme. If you only have a guest on for a fewminutes then you have to get to the point. Now I have them for half an hour so I can let them givemore detailed answers, though I still make sure they answer the question! Does he hold back onthe tough questions? No. But they can be asked in a gentle way. The crucial thing is to ask theright questions, its not how often you interrupt someone.

6 The future for Sam? For the next two years hes under contract to Radio 581. He no longersees television as the logical next step. People seem to last longer in radio. The public have aloyalty to radio stations and presenters that they dont have to the TV. Radio careers run in myfamily Im just following in the footsteps of others. My Mum was a studio manager and mybrother followed in her footsteps. I adore radio. Apart from one or two special people, televisionmakes use of you for a bit and then drops you. Radio does things differently. Fortunately, you cangrow old in this job. He continues, I am content to have found a role where I can express mypersonality most naturally, even if it is not what I was aiming for initially, and I am finally at peacewith myself, no longer trying to prove myself or be a star on a bigger stage.

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You are going to read an article about a woman who bought a zoo. Seven sentences have beenremoved from the article.Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (9-15).There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use

My new home is a zoo!

Amelia used to live in a farmhouse in Surrey. It was very comfortable, says Amelia, and I hadeverything I wanted: enough money and a good network of friends. But her grown-up childrenwerent keen on her being alone. None of them and certainly not Amelia imagined for oneminute that the whole family would end up buying a property that included a zoo!

Amelia and her family heard that an unusual property called Dartmoor Zoological Park had comeon the market complete with animals including bears, tigers, lions and eagles and were verycurious. Dartmoor Zoological Park is part of an old country estate. Looking out over the zoo is a13-bedroom house dating from the 1800s. Three of her children went with Amelia for a viewing.

9 However, she didnt tell them this. Amelia admits: I only went along to befriendly. It was pouring with rain and very muddy and my first impression wasnt that positive.

As it turned out, Amelia could see that there was room for the whole family and that the place had

enormous potential. 10 It was very uncomfortable, says Amelia. There wasnteven central heating and the showers didnt work! However, she wasnt discouraged at all by thestate of the house. In fact, she was very determined.

11 In a busy life which has involved a great deal of upheaval and change, she hasmoved house 16 times. Not only did Amelia have the task of restoring the house to its formerglory, even helping to repair the floors and the roof, she also had to think about taking care of theanimals.

All the animals were in need of tender, loving care; the bears were hugely overweight and thefemale tigers had to be locked up to stop them fighting. Amelia decided quickly that the health

and well-being of the animals had to come first and not the house. 12 And as forAmelia herself, it is clear that she also adores animals and looks with enormous pleasure at thecountryside that now surrounds her.

From the beginning, friends had warned her that taking on this huge enterprise was a mad idea.

None of the family had any experience of running a business on this scale. 13 Thejobs were endless: finding zoo keepers, building new enclosures, renovating the restaurant andabove all making sure the big cats couldnt escape. All of these things cost a great deal.

14 But they neednt have worried. The first year has been a good one, with moreinterest from the public than they expected. I want the zoo to continue to do well for everybody,she says. Not just for the family and the animals, but because so many people had so many

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doubts. Were a determined family and if we all pull together, well always succeed.

Amelia now has several responsibilities, including managing the caf and supervising the team of

zoo keepers. 15 Her first job was headmistress of a tiny school where she was alsothe caretaker, cook and librarian, so she has never been afraid to take on a variety of roles.

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Creative People

A Peter Hughes, a computer game creatorA lot of the time I dont know where my ideas come from. Its not as if I see a picture graduallyforming. The picture is suddenly there, and it can make you feel slightly out of control of theprocess. It can come quite unexpectedly.

I have a huge number of little notebooks for work, full of sketches and some text, although Im notin any way artistic and I cant draw very well. I find that I jot down all my best ideas in thesebooks, and often I do that when I am on the move.

The big ideas are easy. The real test always comes about six months later when you have todesign all the details of the game. You have to think about things like how many pieces ofinformation players can take before theyll get confused and frustrated.

I really believe the only difference between a creative person and an uncreative person is thatcreative people tend not to have a little voice in their head saying, Thats not going to work, thatsa stupid idea. They just have a huge amount of confidence and thats more important than beingsome sort of genius.

B Anita Pedersen, singer and songwriterI tend to write at all times of the day and night. I write songs whenever Ive the opportunity to sitdown and pick up a guitar. Im not easily disturbed by what other people are doing and itsessential that you remain unaware of other things going on in the environment.

Like a lot of musicians, Im a radio addict. Its the only company I have, and you can tune in andout of it quite easily. I get ideas from it, as I do from reading something in the newspaper. Ideasalso come from your emotional reactions to the things going on around you in daily life youhave to look and listen and think carefully about what youre seeing and hearing.

For me the process of thinking about things goes on all the time. In my job you dont have a fixedtimetable so I find it difficult to switch off from work. Im very often quite happy to sit down andwatch some silly TV show, in order to avoid thinking about problems with my latest song!

C Janet Kemp, architectI come into the office every day. I like to arrive at 8 a.m., as this is a very peaceful period when Ican think about things before other people arrive. The weekends are even better because thereare no distractions at all.

The initial idea for a job comes to me literally out of nothing sometimes. I also dont think youneed to go to any particular place to be creative; people just use that as an excuse. Yourpersonal happiness comes out in your work; its a reflection of you as an individual.

A lot depends on the team of people you have around you and how good they are. The biggestmistake is underestimating the details of the design. If youve got talented people with you,theres less chance of you forgetting those minor points that could be so important.

D John Barrett, novelist

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For most of my working life I started my day rushing around getting my children ready for schooland after doing that I needed a sort of change of atmosphere. I used to find a couple of coffeesput me in the mood to write and stimulated my imagination. It was like flicking a switch inside myhead.

Ive always been a very disciplined writer, because thats the only way you ever get anythingdone. Usually when Im writing a novel, I aim to write a thousand words a day, and I stick to it. Isometimes stop in the middle of a sentence, which isnt a bad idea, as the next day its very easyto get back into it.

Ive always had a very vivid imagination. If youve got that, its there all the time working away. Isometimes go for long walks because this allows me to have a really good think about things.Ideas often occur to me when Im being physically active and occasionally I think: I could put thatin the next chapter.

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II. WRITING

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III. USE OF ENGLISH

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