READING AND USE OF ENGLISH (1 hour 15 minutes)

Part 1
For questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.

Why we need to play

Human beings are not the only creatures that like to (0).........fun. Many animals play, as do some birds. However, no other creatures spend so much time enjoying themselves as human beings do. Indeed, we (1).......... onto our sense of fun right into adulthood.

So why do human beings spend so much time playing? One reason is that we have time for leisure; animals have very little time to play as most of their life is spent sleeping and (2)......... food.

So, is play just an opportunity for us to (3)........... in enjoyable activities or does it have a more important (4)........... ? According to scientists, (5)............. from being fun, play has several very real (6)............. for us - it helps our physical, intellectual and social development. It also helps to (7)........... us for what we have not yet experienced. With very (8)............. risk, we can act out what we would do in unexpected, or even dangerous, situations. 

A bicycle you can fold up

Folding bicycles have (0)............. around for quite some time now. However, an amazing new Japanese version (9)............. be folded with a swiftness and efficiency never seen before. This bike is designed (10)............... that it is possible to fold it up quickly. Once folded, you pull the bike along (11).............. ease.

This remarkable bike has a half-folding frame with a hinge in the middle. And, although the basic idea is (12)................. original, its inventor has created an especially clever variation, combining compactness (13)................. convenience with smart design.

Recently, folding bicycles (14).............. become very popular in Japan, particularly in congested urban areas like Tokyo, a city (15)................ every square centimetre of space is in great demand. Japanese cyclists need to be able to store their bikes in tiny areas at home or the office. And (16)............... they should want to take their bicycle on the underground, a folding model is a big advantage.

Tea

Tea is an (0).............. popular drink with many people. It is estimated that the consumption of tea in England alone exceeds 165 million cups daily. Despite this, the drink was virtually (17)................. in England until about 400 years ago. The first (18)............... to tea in England comes in a diary written in 1660. However, its (19)................ really took off after the (20).................. of King Charles II to Catherine of Braganza. It was her great love of tea that made it (21)................

It was believed that tea was good for people as it seemed to be capable of reviving the spirits and curing certain minor (22).................. .It has even been suggested by some historians that it played a significant part in the Industrial Revolution. Tea, they say, increased the number of hours that (23).................. could work in factories as the caffeine in tea made them more (24)..................... and consequently able to work longer hours.

A musician and his pupil

Paul Williams interviews the famous pianist Alfred Brendel.

Over six decades the pianist Alfred Brendel gradually built up and maintained a dominant position in the world of classical music. He was an intellectual, sometimes austere, figure who explored and recorded the mainstream European works for the piano. He wrote and played a great deal, but taught very little. Those who knew him best glimpsed a playful side to his character, but that was seldom on display in his concerts. It was a disciplined, never-ending cycle of study, travel and performance.

And then, four or five years ago, a young boy, Kit Armstrong, appeared backstage at one of Brendel's concerts and asked for lessons. Initially, Brendel didn't take the suggestion very seriously. He had had very few pupils and he saw no reason to start now. He quotes from another
famous pianist: 'You don't employ a mountain guide to teach a child how to walk.' But there was something that struck him about the young boy - then about 14. He listened to him play. Brendel explained, 'He played remarkably well and by heart. Then he brought me a CD of a little recital he had given where he played so beautifully that I thought to myself, "I have to make time for him. It was a performance that really led you from the first to the last note. It's very rare to find any musician with this kind of overview and the necessary subtlety.'

As Brendel is bowing out of the public eye, so Kit is nudging his way into it - restrained by Brendel, ever nervous about the young man burning out early. Kit, now 19, is a restless, impatient presence away from the lessons - always learning new languages; taking himself off to study maths, writing computer code or playing tennis. All under the watchful eye of his ever-present mother. On top of all this he composes. 'This was very important', Brendel says. 'If you want to learn to read music properly it is helped by the fact that you try to write something yourself. Then I noticed that Kit had a phenomenal memory and that he was a phenomenal sight reader. But more than this is his ability to listen to his own playing, his sensitivity to sound and his ability to listen to me when I try to explain something. He not only usually understands what I mean, but he can do it. And when I tell him one thing in a piece, he will do it everywhere in the piece where it comes in later.'

Brendel catches himself and looks at me severely. (line 50) 'Now I don't want to raise any expectations. I'm very cross if some newspapers try to do this. There was one article which named him as the future great pianist of the 21st century, I mean, really, it's the worst thing. One doesn't say that in a newspaper. And it has done a great deal of harm. As usual, with gifted young players, he can play certain things amazingly well, while others need more time and experience. It would be harmful if a critic was there expecting the greatest perfection.

It is touching to see the mellowness of Brendel in his post-performing years. He explains 'When I was very young, I didn't have the urge to be famous in five years' time, but I had the idea I would like to have done certain things by the age of 50. And when I was 50, I thought that I had done most of those things, but there was still some leeway for more, so I went on. Although I do not have the physical power to play now, in my head, there are always things going on, all sorts of pieces that I've never played. I don't play now but it's a very nice new career.

Blind Runner

Paul Hardy reports on a blind runner called Simon Wheatcroft who enjoys

taking part in marathon and ultra-marathon races, running distances between 42 km and 160 km.

Running marathons, a race of 42 km, has become increasingly popular. This distance poses extreme physical and mental challenges for anyone, but for Simon Wheatcroft there is another hurdle; he has been blind since he was 18 years old.

For the past two years Simon, now 29, has been overcoming his disability to compete in marathons and ultra-marathons by training with runners who act as his guides, and also, rather uniquely, by teaching himself to run solo, out on the streets. ,I got bored exercising indoors, so thought, "I'll have a go at running outside",' he explains. 37 _____ . Then he got bored again and wanted to try running on the roads.

Weeks of gradual exploration followed, walking a route alone. 38 _____. It took him along littleused pavements alongside a busy main road. Hе also recruited technology to help him form his mental map of the area using a smartphone app, to provide feedback through headphones about his pace and distance. This information could then be cross-referenced with his knowledge of the route and any obstacles. 

Now, having covered hundreds of km alone on the route, Simon has been able, gradually, to phase out the app. 'When I first started I had to really concentrate to an unbelievable level to know where my feet were falling. Now it has become quite automated.' 39_____.  'I did make a few mistakes early on - like running into posts. But you only run into a post once before you think "Right. I'm going to remember where that is next time",' he laughs.

Joining Simon for a training session, it's striking how natural and fluid his movement is; he takes shorter, shallower, more gentle steps than most runners, using his feet to feel his way. His landmarks are minute changes in gradient and slight variations in the running surface. 40 _____. 'I have to believe this route is going to stay consistent, and there won't be things like roadwork signs or big rocks, he says. 

41 _____ . 'I try to concentrate on the millions of footsteps that go right and think positively,' he explains. When it comes to racing in ultra-distance events, Simon has to use guides to run sections of the course with him; after all, it would be almost impossible to memorise a 150 km stretch of countryside by heart. However, the physical and practical advantages of training in the fresh air, on his own terms, are vast and have boosted his confidence in his running ability as well as providing inspiration to others. 

But for Simon the real thrill and motivation for training come from simply being able to compete on equal terms. 42 _____. 'I can't hide the fact I'm blind,' he says, 'but at the same time I would rather compete with everybody else and not be put into a special group. Being visually impaired doesn't mean you can't run.' 

Part 7

You are going to read an article in which four graduates discuss going to university. For questions 43-52, choose from the graduates (A-D). The graduates may be chosen more than once. 

Why go to university?
Four graduates talk about their experiences.

A -  Sonia
While I was doing my physics degree people would often say I was acquiring skills I'd be able to use in my future career, even if I didn't
become a physicist. It sounded like nonsense to me: if I did another job in the end, what could be relevant about knowing what's inside an atom or how to operate a laser? It turns out they were referring to the wealth of other skills you pick up along the way. Communication and problemsolving are just two of these. In contrast to the way you may have been taught before, university teaches you to be innovative and to think for yourself. Going to university is about more than just studying though! I got to make friends from all over the world and they have proved to be useful work contacts.

B - Jane
I went to university because it was the career path expected by school, parents and classmates (to an extent) and also because I didn't really have a clue about what other options were open to me. It's difficult to know how things would have turned out if I hadn't gone. I do know that the job I do 'requires' a degree to do it, though there must be alternative ways of developing these skills. The degree, like it or not, is the screening method used by large numbers of employers and as such opens certain doors. It's certainly harder to get into all sorts of careers without a degree. The debates about university education typically revolve around routes into employment, yet for many the degree is barely relevant to the work we end up doing later on. It gives access to a certain type of career but the actual degree can often be of little practical value.

C - Lydia

There is a lot of pressure on teenagers to know exactly what they want to do with their lives. As a high-achieving student at school, the alternatives to university didn't really appeal to me. So I took up a place at a good university but ended up studying something I wasn't sure I was interested in. Some people know what they want to do from a young age, and for those people, going to university straight out of school may be a great idea. However, many of us are very unsure of our future ambitions aged 18, and should therefore be given as many choices as possible, rather than being pushed into a degree course. Many of my friends went to university straight from school.

D  - Bethany

I don't really remember making the decision to go to university. Everyone always assumed I would, even though I was never the most gifted academically. Someone asked me during my second year why I had gone, and I remember not being able to answer the question. Maybe it was the way I was raised? Maybe it was the school I went to? But university was the next step. I had a great time there, I must say. It's so much more than the place you go to get a degree. You learn so many life skills that I would urge anyone to give the idea some thought. Since graduation l've had a string of jobs. University is an excellent decision for some, and may provide the right qualifications to start a career. But for others, going straight into a job is just as appropriate.