Progress to proficiency students book

T hanks also to all the teachers and students at the following schools and institutes w ho used the pilot edition of this book and made so many helpful comments and suggestions: The Bell

Progress

Student’s Book

Leo Jones

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Cambridge University Press

Cambridge

London N ew York New Rochelle

M elbourne Sydney

M y special thanks to Christine Caims and Alison Silver for ail their hard work, friendly encouragement and editorial expertise

T hanks also to all the teachers and students at the following schools and institutes

w ho used the pilot edition of this book and made so many helpful comments and suggestions: The Bell School in Cambridge, the British Council Institute in

Barcelona, The British School in Florence, the College of Arts and Technology m Newcastle upon Tyne, the Eurọcentre in Cambridge, G odm er H ouse in Oxford,

the H am psteạ4 Q arden Suburb Institute in London, Inlingua Brighton &c Hove,

School in Athens, the Moustakis School of English in Athens, the Newnham Language Centre in Cambridge, VHS Aachen, VHS Heidelberg, VHS Karlsruhe,

W im bledon School of English in London and Ray Thom son in Switzerland

W ithout their help and reassurance this book could not have taken shape

This b o o k is for stu d en ts p rep arin g for the University of C a m b rid g e Certificate of

Proficiency in English examination Its 18 units, each based on a different topic, will help you to develop and improve your English up to the standard required in the Proficiency exam The exercises are designed to help you to improve the specific language skills tested in the different papers of the exam In addition, you will

discover th a t th ese exercises are often entertaining, som etim es challenging,

frequently inform ative and occasionally provocative or even surprising

A Proficiency course should be: (a) enjoyable, (b) intcllectuallv stimulating and (c) geared to the exam These three requirements are kept in mind throughout this book Each unit contains a variety of exercises and activities, focussing on

the knowledge and the various sets of skills you require for the Proficiency exam: vocabulary, reading, use of English, listening, oral com munication and composi­ tion As you w o rk through these exercises, you will progressively build up your proficiency in these language skills

You will notice a gradual change in the nature and style of the exercises and

activities from unit to unit At the beginning they help you to improve your English

bv giving you guidance and enjoyment; towards the end you will be acquiring some

of the special skills needed for the Proficiency exam, where your knowledge of English is going to be tested objeaively

M any o f the exercises and activities are designed to be done in co-operation w ith other students, w orking in pairs or small groups This is to encourage each of you

to consider an d then discuss all the answers to the questions If exercises are done

r o u n d th e class, so m e o n e else usually answers first or so m e o n e gets the tea ch e r CO

answer the difficult questions, and this tends to discourage the others from thinking for theirselves W orking in pairs or small groups usually takes longer, but it really does help you leam m ore effectively and to remember better - and it’s enjoyable too

Although w orking through this book will help you to m aintain your progress in English, don’t forget th a t it is your teacher who can help you to improve the

specific aspects of English th a t you are weakest in and guide you tow ards exercises

that seem m ost valuable for you and your class But m ost im portant of all is yoưĩ

By asking questions, seeking advice, continuing to expand your vocabulary,

reading as m uch English as you can, talking and listening to English whenever you can both in class and outside, you are the one who is m ost responsible for your own progress To do well in the Proficiency exam you need to be confident and flexible

in your use of English And to develop confidence and flexibility needs time,

practice and som e hard w ork Good luck!

1 Adventure

A Look at this photograph

W ould you encourage a young brother or sister (or your ow n child) to do this? Have you any personal experience of this kind of sport?

W hat kinds of adventures or dangerous sports w ould you avoid at all costs? Why?

W hat kind of a person does an adventurer or an explorer need to be?

B W ork in pairs Take a look at these words and phrases, often used when talking

ab o u t adventures - do you understand them all? Which of them will fit best into each gap in the sentences on the next page?

1 Som e p e o p le adm ire the bravery of m ountaineers, but 1 c a n ’t help feeling

t h a t m a n y o f th e m are s i m p ly

2 G o in g r o u n d the w o rld in a hot-air balloon w as a f a n t a s t ic

3 T h e o d d s against th eir reaching the Pole were phenom enal, b u t they pressed

on a n d d i d n ’t

4 Facing d a n g ers a n d difficulties to g eth er IS su p p o sed to give the m em bers OÍ

an e x p e d i t i o n a n amazing feeling o f ‘

5 Setting off on an exp ed itio n w ith o u t th o ro u g h p rep a ratio n and with

i n a d e q u a t e e q u i p m e n t i s

6 By ta k in g such unnecessary risks th e success of the entire expedition w as

7 T h e in tre p id ex p lo re r h a d accom plished a p h en om en ai feat of endurance

a n d c o u ra g e, b u t still he spoke a b o u t it w ith g r e a t

8 T o sail single-handed across the o cean takes both skill a n d

9 T h ey w ere lost alone in the desert a n d suffered from hunger, thirst and

n u m e r o u s o t h e r

10 They had been attacked by alligators, waded across piranha-mfested rivers

a n d h a d c o u n tle ss o t h e r a d v e n tu re s

11 T h ey lost their bearings in the dep th s of the jungle an d spent clays just

12 Everyone thought they had no chance of escaping but some weeks later they

e m e r g e d from the jungle

c C a n you su p p ly a suitable w o rd to com plete each of the following sentences?

T h e initial letters arc given as a clue

13 T h e m e m b e rs of an expeditio;i have to accept the au th o rity of their

1 unqucstioningiy

14 The team of climbers attem pted to reach the s of the

m o u n t a i n

15 One of the climbers fell dow n ri crevasse while attem pting to cross the

g

16 The avalanche came dow n seconds after they had c:osseả the slope - they

really d id have a n escape

T7 The view from the peak was absolutely b

18 He was the first man to cross the English Channel by h

g

19 The only way to get supplies to the expedition was to drop them by

p

20 Lost in the desert, they were hundreds of miles from the nearest u

21 Tliey paddled their canoes down a fearsome gorge, but then they came to ;hc

w orst r thev had yet encountered

22 After the storm the captain discovered that tw o members of his crew had

been sw e p t o

23 M any of the famous European explorers in Africa were either m ission^ies

or sent to establish c s

24 I’m fascinated by other people's adventures but, bemg a coward mvsclf, i ‘m

best su ited to being a n a traveller

1.2 Brazilian Adventure Reading

C l I A P T E K IV

O U T L O O K U N S E T T L E D

THF.KF are, I suppose, expeditions and expeditions I must say

that d u r i n g chose six weeks in L o n d o n it looked as if o u rs was

n o t g o in g to qualify for e ith er category O u r official le a d e r 5

( h e re in a fte r re fe rre d to as Bob) h a d just th e right air o f i n tr e p ­

idity O u r O rganizer, on the o th e r h a n d , a p p e a re d to have b een

miscast, in spite o f his professional-looking b eard A m an o f

great c h arm , he was nevertiieless a little imprecise H e h ad once

d o n e som e shooting in Brazil, a n d we used to gaze with respect 10

at his p h o to g ra p h s o f unim aginable fish an d the corpses (or, as it

t u r n e d o u t later, corpse) o f the ja g u a r s he had killed B ut w hen

pressed for details of o u r own itinerary he could only re fe r us to

a h u g e , brightlv-coloured, a n d obsolete m ap o f South Am erica,

on which the railway line between Rio and São Paulo had been 15

heavily m a rk e d in ink ‘From São P a u lo / h ẹ would say, ‘we shall

go up-country by lorry It is cheaper and quicker than the tra in /

O r, alternatively: T h e railway will take us rig h t into the in terio r

It costs less than going by road, and we shall save time, to o / It

was clear th at Bob, for all his intrepidity, viewed o u r O rg a n iz e r s 20

vagueness with a p p reh en sio n

At the other end — in Brazil, that is to say — the expedition’s

interests were said to be in capable hands Captain J o h n H olm an,

a British resid en t o f São Paulo whose knowledge o f the in te rio r

is equalled by few Europeans, had expressed his willingness to 25

d o all in his pow er to assist us O n o u r arrival in Brazil, as you

will hear, this gentleman proved a powerful, indeed an indispen­

sable ally; but at this early stage of the expedition’s history o u r

O rg a n iz e r hardly m ade the most o f him, and C ap tain H o lm a n

was h a n d i c a p p e d by th e scanty in fo r m a tio n w hich he re c e iv e d 30

with re g a r d to o u r intentions In L o n d o n we were given to

u n d e r s ta n d th at the m an who really m attere d was a M ajor

Pingie — G eorge Lewv Pingle (T h at IS not his nam e You can

re g a r d him as an imaginarv character, if you like He is no

M ajor Pingle is an A m erican citizen, holding — o r d a im in g to

hold — a commission in the Peruvian am iv He has had an active

a n d a varied career According to his own story, he ran away

from his ho m e in Kentucky at th e age o f iV^; joined a c irru s

which vv^as tourinq; the S o u th e rn States: fo u n d his wav across th e 40

Mexican border: worked for Sf)me time on a ranch near Monterey;

acLompanied an archaeological expedition into Y u a ita n where

he nearly died o f iever: went n o rth lo convalesce in California:

jo in ed the g r o u n d staff O f an a e r o d r o m e th e re a n d became (<)t

all ihings) a professional paracliutisi: w ent inty p a rtn e rs h ip with ^5

a G erm an, whose am b itio n it was to s ta rt an air-line in South

Aiiiei ica; a n d since th e n luid iravelled wix.lely in Colombia, Peru,

Chile, and Brazil All this, OÍ C(jurse, we found out later All we

knew, or th o u g h t we knew, in L ondon was that M ajor Finqle was

a (iian o f wide e x p e r i c i 'c e a n d s te rlin g w o r th w ho hncl once 50

accompanied o u r O rg a n iz e r on a sp o rtin g exp ed itio n in Brazil,

buying stores, h irin g guides, a n d doiĩìỉỊ ev erything possible to

facilitate o u r jo u r n e y A g re a t deal, obviously, was g oing lo

d e p e n d on M ajor Pingle ‘T h is Major P in g le/ 1 used to tell 55

people, 'is going to b e th e Key Man.’

It was difficult to visualize Major Pirigle, all those miles away

T h e only th in g we knew for certain a b o u t him was that he was

not very gooci at an sw ering cables This, we were told, was

because he m u st have gone u p -co u n try already, to get things 60

ready W h atev er th e cause, however, very im p erfect liaison

existed between his h e a d q u a rte rs in São Paulo a n d o u rs in

London; an d w h en a letter did a t last reach L o n d o n fro m Brazil,

o u r O rtjanizer lost it So it was impossible to find o u t definitely

w hether Major Pingle’s p rep aratio n s v/ere being m ad e in tlie 65

light o f o u r plans, o r w h eth er o u r plans were being m a d e to ill

his prep aratio n s, o r n eith er, o r both It was all r a th e r u n certain

(from Brazilian Adventure by Peter Fleming)

A W ork with a partner: When you’ve read the passage, answer the questions below Each gap can be filled with one word or a short phrase The first is done for you as an example,

2 Bob, the leader, lo o k ed

not explorers

6 The O rganiser’s travel plans were not only vague but a lso

8 Captain H olm an in Brazil k n ew about the expedition’s plans

9 M ajor Pingle seems to be a man w h o

11 The party were told b y that M ajor Pingle had gone

up-country

12 M ajor Pingle had been s e n t telegram(s) from London

13 The m em bers of the party were s h o w n letter(s) from M a jo r Pingle

14 It was quite possible th at M a jo r Pingle w as m aking n o at all for the expedition

15 Judging by w h at the w riter tells us, the expedition is likely to be a

B H o w w ould you describe thè tone of the writing?

Does it m ake you want to read more about the adventure? W hy (not) ?

If you had been leader of the expedirion, w h a t steps w o u ld you have taken to ensure th at all the necessary prep aratio n s were made?

W h a t do you th in k the expedition found w hen they actually did arrive in Brazil?

1.3 Evei^st in Winter

10

15

20

25

35

Gales h it Everest

team at 23,500 ft

from JO E TASKER

o n E v e r e s t

DESPITE almost continuous

gales and heavy sno^wfaiis,

the eight-man British Everest

W inter Expedition has m an­

aged to establish its Camp III

at a height of 23,500 ft In a

cable sent last week Joe Tasker

describes how the team is

coping with th e severe condi­

tions ;

W inter has really taken

hold on Everest We have had

bad w eather ever since

Christmas and our Camp IĨ

proved unusable- as winds

threatened to tear the tents

from the mountain side One

was slashed open by a gust

at six o'clock one morning

and John P o rte r only saved

his hands from frostbite by

holding them in a pan of hot

■ Ci;

Frostbite is never far awaj’'

and we have to watch for

signs of numbness in the

fingers and roes and keep our

faces covered or turned away

from the wind Metal objects

can only be handled with

cỊỈoves to p rev en t the flesh

sticking and burning from the cold

The Japanese expedition

camped nearby has O f f e r e d

badly One team member was

lost in a spell of severe wea­

ther and several o th ers have frostbite, [T he Jap an ese are since re p o rte d to have given

up their attem pt.]

During a short improve ment in th e w eather Peter Thexton and I m anaged to move 1,000 ft above Camp II and dig th rough into a

cave This now form s Camp III and is a secure haven against th e worst w eather

From h e re A drian Burgess and I m anaged to reach 24.000 ft on th e W e s t Shoulder, giving us our first sight of th e re st of th e route and magnificent views of Nuptse, Lhotse and E v ere st’s

Facs T he site where we plan to set up Camp IV could be seen along

an easy b u t windsw ept ridge

The secret of success seems

to lie in establishing another snow cave as Camp IV at 25.000 ft

Climbing in w inter has

Reading

40

45

50

55

60

65

70

p roved every bit as harsh as

we expected and progress is

agonisingly slow However,

we have been allowed an

extension of our Nepalese

G overnm ent climbing perm it

to 15 F e b ru ary and a short

spell of good weather should

allow a sum m it attempt

P e te r T hexton are occupying

Brian Hall are at Camp I, pioned down by hurricane force winds, and the re st of

us are stuck at base camp waiting for a break in ứie

w eather

85

W ork with a partner After you’ve read the article, see if you can answer these

q u estions — tkcy can all be answered in o n e w o r d or a short phrase

4 W h o did get frostbite?

p a re n th e s is ?

10 W hat has been the worst a sp e a of A e weather?

H ow would you describe the tone of the passage?

Does the writing make yog keen to read Joe Tasker’s next report? Why (not^Ị?