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Exam practice Reading and Writing 3

Osel Hita Torres was born in the village of Bubión in the Sierra Nevada in 1985. When he was only one, the Dalai Lama proclaimed that Osel was the reincarnation of a famous Buddhist spiritual leader; and when he turned six, his parents sent him to a Buddhist monastery in southern India. He was to spend the next twelve years of his life there.

Osel’s time at the monastery was not very happy. Life was hard, and having fun was definitely not on the monks’ agenda. To make matters worse, he had no contact with his parents back in Spain and wasn’t even allowed to phone them. When he was eight, he managed to smuggle his mother a message, begging her to take him away from the monastery. When they found out, the monks realised that Osel was missing his family terribly, so they decided to let his father live with him at the monastery.

Every three or four years, Osel was allowed to return to Spain, but only for a few days. However, these visits were

very trying, as he had the impression that his own family were complete strangers. In addition, the sudden contact with life in the West was a traumatic experience after so many years in the monastery.

When he was 18, Osel decided to take the situation into his own hands and asked the monks for permission to leave. He is now in the process of rediscovering his own identity and deciding what he really wants to do in life. Osel himself has mixed feelings about the time he spent in the monastery, but he recognises that experiencing both Eastern and Western culture has been very enriching for him. He has not rejected Buddhism and is still a very spiritual person. As he says, ‘Just the sunset can be enough to give you peace to find a moment of meditation in yourself.’ Like many of us, it seems, Osel is trying to find direction and meaning in his own life. Who knows? Perhaps one day he will decide to return to the monastery.

1 Answer the questions in your own words.

1 How did Osel feel while he was at the monastery?

2 Did Osel like going back home? Why? / Why not?

3 What is Osel going to do now?

2 Say whether the statements are true or false. Quote the relevant line numbers to justify your answer.

1 Osel spent most of his childhood in the monastery.

2 Osel’s father was with him for most of his time in the monastery.

3 In the end, Osel managed to escape in secret.

4 In some ways, Osel’s situation is typical.

3 Find a word or an expression in the text that means the opposite of:

1 perhaps (paragraph 2)

2 easy (paragraph 3)

3 a clear idea (paragraph 4)

4 accepted (paragraph 4)

4 Complete the sentences according to the information in the text.

1 The monks realised that Osel was unhappy after he

2 When Osel was eight, his father

3 For the last few years, Osel

4 Osel feels that he is lucky because

Writing

5 Write a composition of about 100–150 words. Choose one option.

1 What I want to do with my life.

2 You have seen an advertisement for volunteers to help build a school in a remote Indian village. Write a letter of application, explaining why you are interested in becoming a volunteer and what skills you can bring to the project.

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Exam practice

Vocabulary

Listening 3

• survivor: someone who is alive after an accident

• bury: put in the ground and cover with earth

• realise: understand

• flesh: meat

• top: the highest point

• rescue: operation to save / protect people

In the interview you are going to hear the following words. Read them and make sure you know what they mean.

➞ Nando Parrado, a Uruguayan rugby player, talks about how he survived a horrific plane crash over 40 years ago.

4.04 Listen to the interview. Choose the best answer according to the recording. Only ONE answer is correct.

1 How many people were on the plane?

a) More than 50.

b) Fewer than 50.

c) 49.

d) We don’t know.

2 He first realised something was wrong when he …

a) smelt something.

b) heard something.

c) saw something.

d) felt something.

3 When the plane crashed …

a) he lost consciousness.

b) he tried to get out.

c) he looked for his mother and sister.

d) he panicked.

4 Which of the following statements is true?

a) His sister died before his mother.

b) He never found his mother’s body.

c) His mother survived.

d) He was the only one in his family who survived the crash.

5 How did he feel at the beginning?

a) Determined.

b) Very sad.

c) Afraid.

d) Confused.

6 Which of the following statements is true?

a) Not everyone ate the bodies.

b) It was a difficult decision to eat the bodies.

c) Eating the bodies was the obvious decision.

d) He still has bad dreams about eating the bodies.

7 Which time was especially difficult?

a) When they said goodbye to the group and went to look for help.

b) When they got lost on the mountain.

c) When they got to the top of the mountain.

d) When there was an avalanche.

8 Who was the first person they met?

a) A soldier.

b) A mountaineer.

c) A farmer.

d) We don’t know exactly.

Exam practice

Exam practice / Speaking 83

Speaking 3 and 4

Unit 3 / it’s yoUr life!Describe the photos

1 Describe the two photos.

1 What can you see in each photo?

2 In what sense are the people in the two photos ‘living their own life’?

3 How do you feel about each of the photos?

4 How do you think the people in the two photos feel?

A A

B B

Role-play

2 Choose your roles and act out the following conversation. Student A should start.

Student A: You don’t want to go to university but your parents are insisting that you go. You usually do what you parents tell you. Ask your friend for advice.

Student B: You friend will ask you for some advice. Try to help him or her.

Discussion

3 Would your life change if you won the lottery? How? What new things would you do? What would you stop doing? Discuss these questions in pairs.

Unit 4 / fact or fiction?Describe the photos

1 Describe the two photos.

1 What can you see in each photo?

2 Each photo shows a different strange phenomenon. Do you think either one is possible? Why? / Why not?

3 How do you think the people in each photo feel?

4 Which photo do you prefer? Why?

Role-play

2 Act out the situation in pairs.

You and your friend are camping in the middle of a field. It’s three o’clock in the morning and you hear a strange noise outside the tent. Discuss what to do.

Presentation

3 Imagine that you are an alien and you come to visit Earth. Prepare a short presentation giving your impressions of what you see.