PART 1: VOCABULARY From the words listed below, choose the ones which best fit the space, A, B, C or D.
The conker is a chestnut, the hard brown fruit of the chestnut tree. There are two types of chestnut: the sweet chestnut which you can eat. In winter, they are sold, roasted, from barrows in the street. And then ................... is the horse chestnut, which grows ................... in England The conker does, however, ................... one useful purpose. collected in autumn by ................... small boy in England He dries it, ................... a hole in it, and puts it on the end of a piece of string. He is then ready to challenge ................... small boy to play conkers down upon it as ................... as he can Then the positions are ................... The victory is the boy who smashes the other's conker to ................... But in the city of Birmingham, conkers ................... come to an end children injured ................... out gathering trees in the city be ................... so that they cannot bear conkers There has been a lot of ................... to the scheme. family planning service for its ................... Now it has been ................... that the only completely free birth-control service is to be offered to trees. PART 2: READING You are going to read an article about a boxer. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap (37-42 ). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
1 - Women's boxing is a new addition to the list of sports included at the Olympic Games. But according to Lucy O'Connor, who has won a number of international competitions, it's a sport that is still widely misunderstood. This is a situation that Lucy is hoping to change. After graduating, Lucy joined the navy, where she took up boxing on the advice of her sports coach, who thought it would improve her general fitness. But Lucy soon set her sights on competitions. Her first bout, as boxing matches are called, was at the National Championships. Although she lost, the competition was a major turning point in her career. (1)…. Please select your answer (A) All that hard work certainly paid off and the competition itself brought out the best in Lucy. (B) That's because in order to reach that target, she had to totally rethink her lifestyle. (C) Having access to this space-age training kit was certainly an advantage. (D) If the sport was more in the public eye, then fewer people would make that mistake. (E) Nobody complained about women taking part in those events when it was introduced. (F) That’s why I’ve always regarded it as a thinking girl’s sport really. (G) This was because it spurred her on to train harder and win the next. (H) What this meant, in effect, was that she was able to train full-time.
2 - At the following year's finals, Lucy won the championship title and was then selected to box at the European Championships. As a result of her success, Lucy was accepted on to what the navy calls its 'elite sportsman's programme'. (2)…. Please select your answer (A) All that hard work certainly paid off and the competition itself brought out the best in Lucy. (B) That's because in order to reach that target, she had to totally rethink her lifestyle. (C) Having access to this space-age training kit was certainly an advantage. (D) If the sport was more in the public eye, then fewer people would make that mistake. (E) Nobody complained about women taking part in those events when it was introduced. (F) That’s why I’ve always regarded it as a thinking girl’s sport really. (G) This was because it spurred her on to train harder and win the next. (H) What this meant, in effect, was that she was able to train full-time.
3 - Every day now starts with a run at 7 a.m., followed by a skill and technique session or a strength and conditioning circuit. Come the afternoon, there are more aerobic workouts, before Lucy gets into the ring and practises with other elite boxers. As with all competitors, diet is a huge part of Lucy's life. Since she first started boxing, she's had to shed twenty-eight kilos. Losing the last six, which took her into the flyweight category, required great determination. (3)…. Please select your answer (A) All that hard work certainly paid off and the competition itself brought out the best in Lucy. (B) That's because in order to reach that target, she had to totally rethink her lifestyle. (C) Having access to this space-age training kit was certainly an advantage. (D) If the sport was more in the public eye, then fewer people would make that mistake. (E) Nobody complained about women taking part in those events when it was introduced. (F) That’s why I’ve always regarded it as a thinking girl’s sport really. (G) This was because it spurred her on to train harder and win the next. (H) What this meant, in effect, was that she was able to train full-time.
4 - As she explains: 'I don't go out to party anymore. Thankfully, I'm married to my boxing coach, so at least I've got some sort of social life!' Lucy's husband boxed as a heavyweight himself and he's in her corner for all her domestic competitions. Lucy's mum works as a buyer at a big department store, and Lucy has been testing out products for the store's sports division. Whilst preparing for a recent international championship, Lucy wore a new titaniumbased sports clothing range designed to improve circulation and aid recovery. (4)…. Please select your answer (A) All that hard work certainly paid off and the competition itself brought out the best in Lucy. (B) That's because in order to reach that target, she had to totally rethink her lifestyle. (C) Having access to this space-age training kit was certainly an advantage. (D) If the sport was more in the public eye, then fewer people would make that mistake. (E) Nobody complained about women taking part in those events when it was introduced. (F) That’s why I’ve always regarded it as a thinking girl’s sport really. (G) This was because it spurred her on to train harder and win the next. (H) What this meant, in effect, was that she was able to train full-time.
5 - But how does her family react to her taking part in competitions? 'Mum tends to admire me boxing from afar, but Dad just loves it!' Lucy has clearly answered questions about safety concerns before and cites all the protective gear boxers strap on before a fight such as hand bandages, head guards, gum shields and much more. 'Amateur boxing is not dangerous,' she says definitively. 'It's so safety-orientated and the rules are so stringent it's actually difficult to get hurt. We approach it more as a skill and point-scoring exercise, rather than as a fight. (5)…. Please select your answer (A) All that hard work certainly paid off and the competition itself brought out the best in Lucy. (B) That's because in order to reach that target, she had to totally rethink her lifestyle. (C) Having access to this space-age training kit was certainly an advantage. (D) If the sport was more in the public eye, then fewer people would make that mistake. (E) Nobody complained about women taking part in those events when it was introduced. (F) That’s why I’ve always regarded it as a thinking girl’s sport really. (G) This was because it spurred her on to train harder and win the next. (H) What this meant, in effect, was that she was able to train full-time.
6 - 'Boxers win points by landing the white knuckle part of their gloves on the opponent's scoring area — essentially the upper body and head — cleanly and with sufficient force. In five years of competitive boxing, Lucy's suffered only a few bruises and a broken thumb. And in response to those who think it's 'inappropriate' to see women boxing at the Olympics, Lucy is quick to point out that women have been competing in martial arts such as taekwondo and judo for years. (6)…. Please select your answer (A) All that hard work certainly paid off and the competition itself brought out the best in Lucy. (B) That's because in order to reach that target, she had to totally rethink her lifestyle. (C) Having access to this space-age training kit was certainly an advantage. (D) If the sport was more in the public eye, then fewer people would make that mistake. (E) Nobody complained about women taking part in those events when it was introduced. (F) That’s why I’ve always regarded it as a thinking girl’s sport really. (G) This was because it spurred her on to train harder and win the next. (H) What this meant, in effect, was that she was able to train full-time.
7 - Her biggest concern is that people confuse amateur boxing competitions with professional fights, where the focus is more on aggression and hurting your opponents. 'Female amateur boxing is about showing skill, speed and stamina,' she says. (7)…. 'I find it so satisfying to be changing people's opinion Please select your answer (A) All that hard work certainly paid off and the competition itself brought out the best in Lucy. (B) That's because in order to reach that target, she had to totally rethink her lifestyle. (C) Having access to this space-age training kit was certainly an advantage. (D) If the sport was more in the public eye, then fewer people would make that mistake. (E) Nobody complained about women taking part in those events when it was introduced. (F) That’s why I’ve always regarded it as a thinking girl’s sport really. (G) This was because it spurred her on to train harder and win the next. (H) What this meant, in effect, was that she was able to train full-time.
