C Nisha Ishtiak

My father was editor of Pakistan’s largest newspaper and he knew and liked its librarian, Atif Burkhi. Atif was well-educated and when I was about 12 my father decided I should learn more about the region’s history and he chose Atif as my tutor. It turned out to be an inspired move. He would come to our house once a week to teach me, from the end of school until supper. He took me through a lot of history, but after a few lessons I got bored. ‘I know you’re being paid by my parents to teach me this stuff, ’ I said, ‘but there are other things in the world.’ He burst out laughing as he so often did and asked: ‘What do you want to talk about then? ’ And so we would discuss global issues and world literature.

D Suzanne Terry

Brian Earle, my English teacher was a very intense man with thick glasses, and the fact that he taught a lot of his classes standing on his head was also seen as extremely peculiar. He taught me for just one year and it was probably one of the most creative years of my life. He didn’t believe in giving marks for grammar or punctuation; he implied that the mechanics of writing were not important if you had something to say. When I wrote a short story for him called ‘Army’, he simply wrote across the bottom: 'You’ve just got to keep on writing.’ Those few words of support had a fantastic effect on me in terms of wanting to write and be involved in writing. Brian Earle had a love of teaching and his subject.

Task 1

For questions 1 – 10, 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.

Dear Jane,

I’m sitting (0) ___ the beech at the moment. Soon, I’m (1) ___ to have a swim.

I arrived here three days (2) ___ with my family. We (3) ___ be on holiday together

here for two weeks. It (4) ___ a beautiful place. The beech is very near (5) ___ hotel. The sea isn’t cold and (6) ___ are many interesting places to visit. Yesterday we

walked (7) ___ a village in the mountains. It took lots (8) ___ photographs.

It’s (9) ___ pity that you didn’t come (10) ___ us.

Love

Peter

Task 2

For questions 11 – 15, read two notes about school books and fill in the information on the Bookshop Order Form. There is an example at the beginning (0).

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

Task 3

For questions 16 – 20, complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first. Use no more than three words. There is an example at the beginning (0).

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

0 We had not been on a canal boat for two years.

It was two years __ ___ we had been on a canal boat.

16 It took us a long time to decide where to go.

We spent a long time __ ___ where to go.

17 Theboat did not move very quickly down the river.

The boat moved very _____ down the river.

18 We could not fish in many parts of the river.

We were not _____ fish in many parts of the river.

19 There was a small kitchen on the boat.

The boat _____ a small kitchen.

20 The sun shown every day of the boat trip.

It was _____ every day of the boat trip.

Task 1

For questions 1 – 9, read the text below and choose the most appropriate word from the list (A – L) for each gap. There are two extra words that you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (0).

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