ACTIVITY
READING 1
You are going to read a selection of letters from a motoring
magazine. For questions 1-10, choose from the people (A-E). The people may be
chosen more than once.
Your Letters
This month we feature your early driving experiences.
A
I'd been taking lessons for a year before I passed my
driving test at the age of eighteen, but my dad never gave me any help. Even
after I'd passed he never let me use the car. So I used to take my dad's keys
before leaving the apartment block where we lived and would run round to the
car park at the back where my father left the car at night. He hardly ever used
the car after getting in from work. I used to go and see my girlfriend or just
drive around and then come back and leave the car in exactly the same place.
One night though, I got back at around ten thirty only to find there were no
parking spaces left. I suppose because I went in and told my dad the truth
straight away he was quite good about it. Although he did stop my allowance for
four weeks.
Terry
B
My most unfortunate driving experience happened ages ago,
before I'd actually passed my driving test. My girlfriend's father used to let
her borrow his car whenever we were going to the cinema or something. Anyway,
I'd been thinking about learning to drive and I persuaded her to let me have a
go. We took the car down to the beach on the sand where no one could see us and
she let me take the wheel. We were having such fun that we didn't notice the
tide was coming in until the car was actually swimming in the water. We had to
leave the car where it was and catch the bus back to tell her dad. By the time
the three of us returned, the car was almost covered in water. Needless to say,
her father wasn't too pleased. The funny thing is her dad ended up selling me
the car after I passed my test.
Carl
C
I was teaching my mum to drive and we were coming down a
rather narrow road which had cars parked on both sides. Suddenly, from nowhere
there was a young man on a bike coming towards us. Mum slammed the brakes on
but she crashed into us, landed on the car and then rolled off. My mother and I
both jumped out of the car to see if he was all right. Fortunately, he stood up
and said he was OK, just a little shaken. My mum offered to give him some money
for the repair of the bike, and then an old lady came along. When she saw what
had happened, she began shouting at my mother, saying she must have been
driving too fast and that it was a bad example to set her young daughter. Poor
old mum didn't say a word and I had to explain that she was still learning to
drive.
Sarah
D
My advice about learning to drive would be to have proper
lessons from a qualified instructor and never to let a friend or family member
try to teach you. It's a guaranteed way to spoil a good relationship. Every
Sunday, when the traffic was quieter, my father would pick me up and take me
for a drive along the streets of our hometown and give me a lecture on how to
drive, explaining everything he was doing and why. Eventually it was my turn to
have a go. My dad was so nervous that he panicked before I'd even started up
the engine. He used to shout at the slightest mistake, and when the lesson was
finally over he'd come home and have a large glass of whisky to calm down.
Karen
E
I didn't start learning to drive until I was twenty one. I'd
spent lots of money on lessons but I was a terrible driver, I must admit. The
first time I took my driving test nobody expected me to pass. But after failing
another four times the pressure was really on. I took my test for a sixth time
and failed yet again, but I was too embarrassed to admit it to my family, so I
just pretended that I'd passed after all. My family were delighted and my
mother went out and bought me a car the next day. I didn't know what to do so I
just got in and drove. I continued to drive - illegally - for three months.
Fortunately I was never stopped by the police and the next time I took my
driving test I passed.
Mike
Answer the questions
Which person('s)
1) had a parent who was accused of driving dangerously?
2) bought a car?
3) drove his girlfriend’s dad’s car?
4) drove alone without a license?
5) had to defend one of their parents?
6) drove the family car without permission?
7) used to make their father nervous?
8) paid for driving lessons?
9) had no driving instruction from their father?
10) was given driving lessons by an older member of their
family?
READING 2
Read the text, and then answer the questions below. The
questions are in three sections. Read the instructions for each section
carefully before doing the answers
What is music?
A. Music has probably existed for as long as man has been
human, and it certainly predates civilization by tens of millenia. Yet even
today there is no clear definition of exactly what music is. For example,
birdsong is certainly melodic, but it is not tuneful, and it is not created
with the intention of being musical (in fact it is sometimes meant to sound
threatening) - therefore does it count as music?
B. On the other hand, some modern composers have been
challenging the idea that music should be arranged in a pleasant manner with
the notes falling in an orderly succession. Others, famously the avant guarde
composer John Cage have even used silence and called the result music. As a
result there is no one definition of music. Perhaps it should be said that
music, like beauty, is what the person who sees or hears it believes it to be.
C. Music is divided in many ways. Music itself is split into
notes, clefts, quavers, and semi-demi quavers. Ancient and medieval
musicologists believed that these notes could be arranged 'horizontally' into
melody (making notes that match on the same scale) and 'vertically' (going up
and down the scales to create harmony). Another very basic measurement of music
is the 'pulse'. This is present in almost all forms of music, and is
particularly strong in modern popular music. The pulse is the regular beat
which runs through a tune. When you tap your foot or clap your hands in time to
a song, you are beating out the pulse of that song.
D. Another way of dividing music is by genre. Even a child
who does not know that (for example) rock and roll and classical music are
different genres will be instantly aware that these are very different sounds;
though he will not be aware that one is a percussion-led melody while the other
emphasizes harmony over rhythm and timbre. Each genre of music has numerous
sub-divisions. Classical music is divided by type - for example symphonies,
concertos and operas, and by sub-genre, for example baroque and Gregorian
chant. Just to make it more fun, modern musicians have also been experimenting
with crossover music, so that we get Beatles tunes played by classical
orchestras, and groups like Queen using operatic themes in songs such as 'Bohemian
rhapsody'.
E. Almost all music is a collaboration between the composer,
and the performer, while song requires a lyricist to write the words as well.
Sometimes old tunes are adapted for new lyrics - for example the song 'Happy
Birthday' is based on a tune originally called 'Have a nice Day'. At other
times a performer might produce a song in a manner which the original composer
would not recognize. (A famous example is the punk rock band the Sex Pistols
performing the British national anthem 'God save the Queen'.)
F. This is because the composer and lyricist have to leave
the performer some freedom to perform in the way that suits him or her best.
While many classical compositions have notes stressing how a piece should be
performed (for example a piece played 'con brio' should be light and lively) in
the end, what the listener hears is the work of the performer. Jazz music has
fully accepted this, and jazz performers are not only expected to put their own
interpretation on a piece, but are expected to play even the same piece with
some variation every time.
G. Many studies of music do not take into account where the
music is to be played and who the audience will be. This is a major mistake, as
the audience is very much a part of the musical experience. Any jazz fan will
tell you that jazz is best experienced in small smoky bars some time after
midnight, while a classical fan will spend time and money making sure that the
music on his stereo comes as close as possible to the sound in a large concert
hall. Some music, such as dance music, is designed to be interactive, while
other music is designed to remain in the background, smoothing out harsh sounds
and creating a mood. This is often the case with cinema music - this powerfully
changes the mood of the audience, yet remains so much in the background that
many cinemagoers are unaware that the music is actually playing.
H. Music is very much a part of human existence, and we are
fortunate today in having music of whatever kind we choose instantly available
at the touch of a button. Yet spare a thought for those who still cannot take
advantage of this bounty. This includes not only the deaf, but those people who
are somehow unable to understand or recognize music when they hear it. A famous
example is United President Ulysses Grant, who famously said 'I can recognise
two tunes. One is 'Yankee doodle' and the other one isn't.'
Choose which of these sentences is closest to the meaning in
the text.
1. A. Modern composers do not always want their music to
sound pleasant
B. Some modern composers do not want their music
to be enjoyable
C. A modern musical composition should not be
orderly
2. A. Crossover music is when classical orchestras play
modern tunes
B. Crossover
music moves between musical genres
C. Crossover music
is a modern musical genre
3. A. Performers, lyricists and composers each have a
seperate function
B. Performers of a song will need to become
lyricists
C. Composers
instruct musicians to play their work 'con brio'
Match these groups of words with one of the words in the box
opposite - you do not need two of the words.
4. Rock and roll, classical music, jazz
5. Composer, lyricist, performer
6. Symphony, concerto, opera
7. Cinemagoer, Jazz fan, dancer
A. Collaborators
B. John Cage
C. Classical
D. Baroque
E. Audience
F. Genres
The paragraphs are numbered A-H. Write the letter of the
paragraph which contains the following information (You can choose a paragraph
more than once).
8. _______ People can
tell genres of music apart even without musical training.
9. _______ Where you
hear music can be as important as the skill of the performer.
10. _______ Music has
been a part of human existence for many thousands of years.
11. _______ A piece
of music might have more than one set of words to go with it.
12. _______ Some
people cannot tell the difference between classical music and birdsong.
