Home assignment

1. Do the remaining parts (3-4) of the Reading Comprehension Test.

PART 3

You are going to read a newspaper article. For questions 13-19, choose the answer (А, В, С or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

All the world's her stage

(1) The concept of the Renaissance man or woman, someone who has acquired success or proficiency in several fields, holds a deep appeal in our multitasking present. This, after all, is the age of the juggler. Given the limitless opportunities available in our complex society, the notion of pursuing just one career seems a bit pedestrian. Antonia Campbell Hughes, currently starring on the Dublin stage in the play Roberto Zucco, appears to be the consummate Renaissance woman. Into her short career she has crammed stints as a fashion designer (flogging frocks both under her own name and as part of a diffusion line for the retail chain Topshop), a Paris catwalk model and a star of the big and small screens.

(2) The industries in which Campbell Hughes chooses to work may seem disparate, but they have one trait in common: glamour. She may, perhaps, be a member line 30 of the slasher brigade: an actress-slash-model-slash-designer who is eager for fame and happy to pursue any route to its attainment. The key distinction between the Renaissance woman and the slasher is devotion to one's pursuits. So is Antonia dilettante or devotee?

(3) The woman herself insists that her careers have flowed organically from each other. "People never really see the connection between fashion and drama, but I think there's a huge connection. I saw fashion as creating a scene and a setting and characters, building the entire cast effectively. All my collections were always about creating a mood and an atmosphere and a character. Fashion seemed the most direct avenue. I never understood how people who are creative are satisfied with one outlet, one medium. I always did all kinds of things. In Paris, we didn't have enough money to do catwalk shows, so we'd take gallery spaces and set up a soiree-type thing. You put the various pieces on mannequins and have installation videos and all that kind of vibe. I'd do favours for friends as well and act in their videos.'

(4) Antonia was born in Derry, in the west of Ireland, but her parents left the country when she was two, and she grew up in Switzerland and the US. She moved to Dublin in her mid-teens but didn't find the school syllabus particularly absorbing. 'I didn't go much. I was very much a rebellious teen, and I wanted to sing in bands and travel the world and be away from my normal environment. I thought art school was the best avenue, so I went to New York for a bit and got into fashion.'

(5) Her move into acting was almost accidental. 'A man called John McGuire stopped me on the street and asked me to do a music video, some little kind of ambient trip-hop thing,' she says. 'That made me quite uncertain as to which avenue I was going down. From there I very much fell into television, into comedy. I just went for an audition and got a part in Jack Dee's sitcom Lead Balloon; I never had a hankering to do British TV and didn't know much about the show. But I think the comedy field in British television is quite strong, and I really respect Jack's work and it's such a lovely programme to work on. It's very scripted, but the writers are open to suggestion. If things crop up on the day, they're very much incorporated, which is a lovely way to work.

(6) In person, Antonia comes across as charmingly childlike, continually fidgeting and changing conversational tack mid-sentence. This impression is compounded by her elfin appear­ance – few might guess she has been on the planet for a quarter-century. She's happy to play up this image, and has been known to spend parties sitting under tables, affecting a girlish blitheness. This insouciance, contrived or otherwise, does not prevent her from worrying about being type­cast as a comic artist. 'I wanted to do this play because it's a completely different approach from comedy.'

(7) Everyone has a friend who can't decide what to do with their life. While many twenty-somethings trek through Southeast Asia in search of meaning, Antonia, following her nomadic childhood, is seemingly keen to travel in other ways. Even when describing her cur­rent passion, her mind is never far from her next move. 'I'm very much obsessed with what I'm doing at the moment,' she says. 'That's the beauty of acting: you're working on a different, completely diverse project every given month. I'm quite interested in writing also, but I'd like to do more theatre before I start writing plays.' Antonia Campbell Hughes' career has been flamboyant and convoluted, and she has a taste for the bizarre and grotesque. Her future career, we can only assume, will follow paths as engagingly meandering as those that have brought her to the Dublin stage.

13. In the first paragraph, the writer suggests that

A it may be unwise to try out too many different careers.

В people who are very focused on one career may appear dull.

С to succeed in life you need to learn a range of complex skills.

D a wide range of work experience is good training for an actress.

14. The writer uses the term 'slasher brigade' (paragraph 2)

A to suggest how acting and fashion have a lot in common.

В to emphasize how versatile people like Antonia have to be.

С to show where he thinks Antonia's true motivation comes from.

D to describe people who may lack Antonia's level of commitment.

15. When talking about her work as a fashion designer, Antonia is explaining

A how financial necessity led her to seek acting work.

В why it was impossible to get her designs noticed.

С how she approached the creation of a collection.

D why she found the profession unsatisfying.

16. How did Antonia feel whilst at school in Dublin?

A unsure about the type of education she needed

В unstimulated by what she was expected to study

С unsettled by her educational experiences elsewhere

D disappointed by the way creative subjects were taught

17. What does Antonia say about her decision to do television work in Britain?

A She was attracted to it by the opportunities to improvise.

В She liked the fact that the actors also write the scripts.

С It was the kind of thing she had always wanted to try.

D It was something that she got into almost by chance.

18. What does the phrase ‘This insouciance' (paragraph 6) refer to?

A Antonia's apparently carefree attitude

В Antonia's professional reputation

С Antonia's physical appearance

D Antonia's way of speaking

19. In the final paragraph, we learn that Antonia

A plans to travel before taking on more work.

В has finally settled into a career that suits her.

С feels ready to move on to a completely new creative activity.

D gets pleasure from the variety offered by her current occupation.

PART 4

You are going to read an article about the adventure sport known as canyoning. For questions 20-34, choose from the sections (A-E). The sections may be chosen more than once.

Which section mentions ...

a variant of the sport that is less challenging? 20 ____

a way of mastering the basic skills required by the sport? 21 ____

an example of why the sport demands both courage and determination? 22 ____

artificial aids that have been introduced for the benefit of participants? 23 ____

climatic conditions affecting the availability of venues for the sport? 24 ____

growing awareness of the sport in certain places? 25 ____

how some of the best locations for the sport were discovered? 26 ____

a specially adapted piece of gear that is available for participants? 27 ____

the type of people who pioneered the sport? 28 ____ the reasons why certain types of people are attracted to the sport? 29 30____

the type of people for whom the sport would be unsuitable? 31 32____

the aim of each canyoning expedition? 33 ____

professional guidance in obtaining the most appropriate equipment? 34 ____