Look at the text in the following question. Choose the best answer.
How much time were the team with David?
David Johnsons has loved swimming all his life. When he was 27, he swam in a race near his home in the USA. The sea was very cold and David started to fell unwell. He was taken to hospital but he soon got better and started swimming again. In 1983, he became the first person to swim from Santa Cruz Island to the Californian coast.
In January 2004, at the age of 52, David crossed New Zealand’s Cook Strait in 9 hours and 38 minutes. The oldest swimmer before David was only 42 years old. David spent over a year getting ready to swim the Strait. Then, he and his wife flew to New Zealand so that David could practice for a few weeks there. But, only days after they arrived, the weather improved so David decided to start his swim. He did it with the help of a team. ‘They were great’, David said. ‘They were in a boat next to me all the time! After a few hours, I thought about stopping but I didn’t and went on swimming’.
Afterwards, David and his wife travelled around New Zealand before returning to the USA.
Read the text and decide if the following statements are T (TRUE) or F (FALSE)
We’re Living Faster, But Are We Living Better?
Not long ago people believed that in the future we would work less, have more free time, and be more relaxed. But sadly this has not happened. Today we work harder, work longer hours, and are more stressed than ten years ago. We walk faster, talk faster, and sleep less than previous generations. And although we are obsessed with machines which save us time, we have less free time than our parents and grandparents had. But what is this doing to our health? An American journalist James Gleick in a new book, Faster: the acceleration of just about everything, says that people who live in cities are suffering from ‘hurry sickness’ – we are always trying to do more things in less time. As a result, our lives are more stressful. He says that if we don’t slow down, we won’t live as long as our parents. For most people, faster doesn’t mean better.
1 No time for the news
Newspaper articles today are shorter and the headlines are bigger. Most people don’t have enough time to read the articles, they only read the headlines! On TV and the radio, newsreaders speak more quickly than ten years ago.
2 No time for stories
In the USA there is a book called One-Minute Bedtime Stories for children. These are shorter versions of traditional stories, specially written for ‘busy parents’ who want to save time!
3 No time to listen
Some answerphones now have ‘quick playback’ buttons so that we can re-play people’s messages faster – we can’t waste time listening to people speaking at normal speed.
4 No time to relax
Even when we relax we do everything more quickly. Ten years ago when people went to art galleries they spent ten seconds looking at each picture. Today they spend just three seconds!
5 No time for slow sports
In the USA the national sport, baseball, is not as popular as before it is a slow game and matches take a long time. Nowadays many people prefer faster and more dynamic sports like basketball.
6 ...but more time in our cars
The only thing that is slower than before is the way we drive. Our cars are faster but the traffic is worse so we drive more slowly. We spend more time sitting in our cars, feeling stressed because we are worried that we won’t arrive on time. Experts predict that in ten years’ time the average speed on the road in cities will be 17 km/h.
1. ...... The writer wrote the article to encourage us to work more and relax less.
2. ...... People today are having a less stressful life than they did in the past.
Look at the text in the following question. What does Sarah need to know? Choose the best answer.
From: Sarah
To: Janine
Janine – my birthday meal’s booked for 6.30 Saturday at Luigi’s restaurant. I know there are things you can’t eat, so I’ve attached a menu. Tell me if it’s OK.
Sarah
A. If the food at the restaurant will be all right for Jannie
B. If Jannie will be available to go to the restaurant
C. If Jannie’s birthday meal will start at 6.30 Saturday at Luigi’s restaurant.
D. If Jannie wants to see the restaurant menu before Saturday
