Passage 1. Match the information to each other.

1 Lisa is doing a history project at school. She wants to visit a general history museum before she
decides what period of history to study. She’s like to have a look at all the different times in history
worldwide.

2 Marcus is going to a big museum with his family this weekend. He doesn’t usually go to museums
because he gets bored easily, but he’s very interested in space. Marcus hopes they’ll go to a museum
that has plenty of equipment for him to use.

3 Ben, aged 8, and Erica, aged 12, are going to a museum with their aunt, Marilyn. Ben and Erica love
learning new things and they really like doing creative activities. Luckily, Marilyn likes these things, too!
She wants to find a museum that they can all enjoy together.

4 Yoko is interested in art and craft. She’d like to go to a small museum where she can see things being
made and buy some unusual gifts for her friends.

5 Brother and sister, Robert and Meg, are trying to find out about the history of their great
grandparents. They want to know more about what life was like for ordinary people in the 1920s and
1930s.

MUSEUMS

A City Museum

This weekend: dinosaur drawing for children aged 4 to 8 (adults, please stay, you can take part in the
activities, too). Making a pyramid and watching a video about ancient Egypt for children aged 9 to 10.
For children aged 12, we have tablets with the new museum app Imagine: you can look at sites where
dinosaur bones have been found as if you were there, you can select tools to use and even make real
discoveries. Every activity is free of charge.

B Transport Museum

We have exhibitions on transport through the ages from ancient Greece to the 21st century. A great
place to visit if you like trains, planes and automobiles! Don’t miss it! It’s a wonderful journey through
history.

C The Glass Place

Read about the history of glass-making. Watch a glass-making demonstration and visit the gift shop
where you can buy amazing glass items, including jewellery. Our new collection has just arrived. There
are earrings, bracelets and rings. All designs are original and unique.

D History Museum: Looking Back

Looking Back is a special exhibition that explores the history of the past 100 years looking at houses,
schools, shops, work and developments in transport. There are recordings in each exhibit with
interviews with local people who tell their stories. If you ever wondered what life was like in the past,
come and visit this spectacular exhibition.

E Fun Science

Learn about science and have fun at the same time. Do experiments and find out things for yourself. Try
the rocket simulator or watch a 3D film on stars and planets. Interact with sound, electricity, light and
the elements at the different science fun labs and collect stamps on your science passport. When you
reach the exit, you can get a Fun Young Scientist badge for your backpack.

F Time Museum

If you enjoy global history, come and visit us! Start by exploring the ancient world of Egypt and end by
watching a video about Asia’s most recent inventions. You can access timelines for specific regions with
our new software. This interactive learning experience will let you travel through time. There’s
something for everyone.

G Chocolate Museum

Watch a video about the history of chocolate, then visit the shop and choose from our huge selection of
chocolate items. A great place for the whole family.

H Natural History: Dinosaurs

We have a new exhibition of moving dinosaur models for adults and young people. Not recommended
for children aged eight and under as the dinosaurs are very noisy and a bit frightening.

Passage 2. Fill in the gaps

My first marathon

The alarm went off at half-past four that morning. It was far too early to get up, and the idea of running
26 miles seemed impossible. (1)………… I pulled myself out of bed, showered and pulled on my running
gear.

By six o’clock, I was at the Dodger Stadium, where the rest of my running group was already waiting.
When they saw the look of terror on my face, they laughed kindly. This was clearly my first
marathon. (2)………… When I realized that I was just one of them, I felt a little better. Helicopters
hovered overhead ready to film us as we ran through the streets of Los Angeles, passing every major
landmark until we reached the sea at Santa Monica. Suddenly, I felt very lucky and proud to be a part of
it. (3)…………

As I began to run, I tried to ignore the aches in my body from eight months of training. Instead, I put one
foot in front of the other and kept going. By mile five, my body was complaining, and by mile eight, my
muscles were screaming at me.
(4)………… I was running alone now, but I was still running. By mile 12, I was ready to give up, and by mile
15, I was moving even more slowly. By mile 18, I was in my neighbourhood. (5)………… But by mile 22,
there were only four miles to go. Spectators yelled encouragement at me as I ran past. ‘You can do it!
Keep going!’

As the finish line came into sight, I started running faster and faster, and I crossed that line running. I
grinned as the medal was placed over my head, and then I cried. I had done it. I had run my first
marathon!

A After eight months of training, this was going to be easy.

B I slowed down, and the rest of my group moved away.

C But I had trained for this, and I was going to do it.

D There was no way I could finish the race now.

E The horn blew to start the race.

F I was very tempted to turn down my street and go home.

G I was so glad that I had decided to do this.

H Thousands of runners from all over the world were gathered for the race.

Passage 3. Find the correct answer

Our school newspaper

Some years ago, our head teacher, Mrs Waters, decided to start a school newspaper, and get as many
students as possible to take on the job of producing it – and parents, too. She felt the newspaper would
help them learn more about school life, through articles on things like sports achievements and arts
projects, which not all students know about if they’re not taking part. Students took the whole thing
very seriously – and we now have a prize-winning newspaper!

Some of my friends joined the newspaper team immediately and enjoyed it. I’d always loved creative
writing and drawing cartoons, which I thought would be perfect in the newspaper, so I signed up. My
dad, who’s a journalist, was pleased – he thought that even though I wasn’t keen on a job like his, the
newspaper would be a great opportunity for me. And he was right – I loved it! Dad often came along to
give advice, which was popular with the students. It was difficult sometimes, if he was busy, but he
learned a lot about the school that way.

My first job was writing a report about a sports event – a writing style I’d never attempted before. But
Dad reminded me it was similar in some ways to writing a story – getting information in the right order.
Once I’d understood that, there was no stopping me – and after my first efforts, I developed quite a
professional style, which was brilliant. Sometimes the team couldn’t use what I’d written, or my
cartoons, for whatever reason, but I didn’t mind. And sometimes it was hard to finish stuff on time, but I
usually got there.

I’m now one of the editors – we decide what goes into the newspaper, so our names no longer appear in
print. And it’s stressful sometimes as we don’t have much time, but we try to manage that properly. We
also correct mistakes in people’s articles, which we all had to get used to, but we were soon doing it
without thinking – and in our own schoolwork, too. I still put off calling people outside school for
comments on stuff, but I guess it’s all good experience – at least, that’s what Dad says!

1 Michael’s head teacher wanted to start a student newspaper to

A provide an activity for students not interested in sport or art.

B make students feel more confident about taking part in something.

C keep students better informed about what was happening at school.

D give students the experience of being responsible for something.

2 Michael decided to join the newspaper because

A he had ideas about some work he could do for it.

B he was considering a career in journalism.

C his friends had encouraged him to do so.

D he liked the idea of being part of a team.

3 When Michael first started working on the newspaper, he was

A disappointed when his stories sometimes weren’t used.

B delighted at the way his writing skills improved.

C pleased to find he could make use of his art skills.

D worried he’d be late completing some of his writing.

4 What does Michael say about his role on the newspaper now?

A He feels uncomfortable about correcting other students’ work.

B He still needs to improve the way he manages his time.

C He’s happier to handle making telephone calls to others.

D He’s become better at making articles more accurate.

A I was surprised at how keen Michael was to get involved – he’s never shown that much interest in
writing before.

B I occasionally had problems finding the time to help out at Michael’s school, but the students
really seemed to like my suggestions.

C Michael would never admit it, but I know he’s proud to see his name in the newspaper these days
– and I am, too!

D It’s been great to finally find out about life at the school through reading the newspaper. I didn’t
really know much about it before.