Getting Off the Fast Track

Module 2: Feelings and Emotions

Reading Test

Part 1.

You are going to read an extract from an autobiography. For questions 1-7 choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

When we are young, sometimes the hardest thing about feelings is actually sharing them with others, though, I realize now, it is certainly worth making the effort to do so. Sharing with others helps us to share the load, as it were.

It was not until much later, looking back over my childhood, that I realized that the first step in sharing was to identify what feelings I actually had! Making a list of them seemed to help. Was I happy or was I sad? Was it an emotion experienced only at that particular time or did I tend to feel like that all the time?

My problem was that I had not realized that some fears are quite acceptable and even helpful at times, while others can actually get in the way of enjoying everyday things such as learning, playing with a friend or experiencing for the first time the change from Primary to Secondary level. This is when I really should have had a chat with my parents instead of holding it inside, as they would have been able to lessen my anxiety about moving up.

There were times when my anxiety would also be accompanied by a headache, a stomach ache or dizziness. My grandmother used to tell me that there is a certain part of the brain that controls that fight or flight feeling. Not that I had any idea what she was talking about as I must have been only about knee-high at the time!

I recall a small group of us feeling uncomfortable at the idea of meeting new teachers or moving up to the ‘big’ school. That kind of discomfort as such an age is natural when faced with something new. Better late than never, I realised that being shy is not such a bad thing. Nobody actually sets out to be like that, it just happens naturally. I understood quite quickly that the key to shyness is just to be yourself. No matter the age, it’s healthy to get things off your chest! In fact, I quickly found that some of my friends had the same feelings and became happy to share their secrets. Sometimes, just inviting a shy child to join in a game a couple of times helped them to get over their feelings of shyness.

There were other times when I felt sad about leaving Primary school, but then again, it was one of the many normal emotions or moods we have all experienced during that period of change. Unhappiness was the emotion I felt when I had to say goodbye to certain dear friends. It made me feel like crying, though even crying made me feel better as tears slowly washed away the negative emotions. When the sadness started to disappear, it felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

I now realize at the tender age of twenty-eight that, even though, there might sometimes seem to be no reason to look on the bright side of life, for every bad there is a good. Also, having friends who think optimistically can help you get on your feet again and move forward onto a more positive path.

1. What do youngsters find most difficult to do?

A make an effort

C accept help from others

B realize that life is hard

D tell others how they feel

2. What was the writer’s first move towards sharing her feelings?

A to look back over the years

B to finish writing her lists of feelings

C to decide which particular feelings she had

D to ask people questions about her feelings

3. What the writer finally realized about fears is that

A they all get in the way.

B they can happen every day.

C it is better to hold them inside.

D some are more helpful than others.

4. What does the writer mean by ‘knee-high’?

A too short B too young C too high D too tall

5. According to the writer, what is the best way to handle shyness?

A to be your usual self

B to realize that age matters

C to understand that it is unhealthy

D to realise that it is uncomfortable

6. When the writer’s sadness began to disappear she felt

A she had lost weight C more emotional about life

B she was heavier D more positive about life

7. The writer realizes now for the first time that

A it’s difficult to tell good from bad.

B she has optimistic friends.

C you can get on your feet again yourself.

D there is always a reason to look on the bright side.

Part II.

You are going to read a magazine article about escaping the stresses of modern life. Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap 8-13. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning.

Getting Off the Fast Track

A I’ve leapt off what felt like an out-of-control train three times in my life.

B It’s obvious that you have been made redundant.

C One of those jobs that elicits the comment, “She’s so successful”.

D So I moved to Nice to the smallest, cheapest hotel I could find in the Avenue Gambetta.

E It was far away from memories of Harry and racing around London achieving things that suddenly didn’t seem important.

F Some of the brightest and best people have been fired or made redundant.

G You say, “One day I’m going to…” but you can’t envisage that day.

H But because he insisted I could do anything and he was always there to catch me if I fell. I did it.

You have a very pressurized, fast moving and high-flying job. 0 ___C

Okay, so you’re often exhausted and you talk to your friends, when you see them, about how little time you have to yourself and how you don’t even have a moment to sort out the dry-cleaning. 8 ___. By Friday night you’re falling asleep on the sofa at 8.30 even though you promised yourself you’d go and work out. Okay, some days and evenings are pretty damned good but mostly life is something that nibbles around the edges of work. Sooner or later, and often after a holiday, you’re thinking: There’s got to be something better than that.

Nowhere is it written that you have to stay on the fast track for ever. Getting off it for a while or for good is often the best thing you’ll ever do. 9 ___.And I’ve got friends who’ve done or were forced to do the same.

Listen – sometimes it’s easier if someone else makes the decision for you. And in these days of downsizing, it’s not personal. 10 ___.

Yes, I know if there are bills there’s an intake of breath, and maybe you will find yourself staring at the bedroom walls at five in the morning feeling like the figure in Munch’s The Scream as you wonder how you’re going to cope. In my case, the awful doubts come much later – after the exhilaration and the thrill of freedom.

In my 20s I sold advertising space. Harry, my boss, was full of encouragement and the kind of enthusiasm that made me want to jump through hoops for him. In the early days, while he was still training me ‘to be the best’, I’d say, “Harry, I can’t do that. I just can’t do it. 11 ___.

By the time he got leukaemia and left the office and me running it, I was very good at selling. But without him, the office that had sparkled was – just an office. I spoke to his wife one wretched Wednesday morning. Harry was dying. The sky turned black. A copy of The Times lay folded on the office table and I picked it up and tried to read through tears. I remember the ad in the personal column: secretary for Cote d’Azur. French speaker. Car driver.

Two weeks later I was living in Eze, a few kilometres from Nice. 12 ___. I surrendered to the beauty of spring in the South of France, the smell of mimosa, winding roads, tall pine trees and a social job in a chateau. The job lasted three months. But I couldn’t face London. Not just then. 13 ___. I fell in love with France and a man, learned to speak fluent French and didn’t read an English newspaper for six months.

Listening test

You will hear a radio interview about cat’s body language. Listen and for questions 1-7 choose the best answer A, B or C.

1. Roger believes that his work is

A rather boring.

B natural.

C quite exciting.

2. Roger says that

A he understands exactly what cats are thinking.

B cat’s body language can tell us how they feel.

C he is always surprised by the way cats behave.

3. A cat shows how it feels by moving its

A head.

B tail.

C paws.

4. If a cat’s tail is fluffed up and pointing down, the cat is

A protecting itself.

B very angry.

C happy.

5. When two cats are about to fight, the most aggressive one

A will have its ears pointing forward.

B will sound frightened.

C won’t make a sound.

6. Cats can understand if you are friendly to them by the way you

A talk to them.

B touch them.

C look at them.

7. Which of the following best describes the interviewer’s attitude?

A He doesn’t like cats.

B He doesn’t believe what Roger is saying.

C He is surprised.

Writing

1. Write a summary of the text “The Man of Destiny” by G.B.Shaw.

2. Write an argumentative essay “Letting Feelings Out: Arguments For and Against” (250-300 words).

Essential Vocabulary Test

Part I.Comment on the meanings of the essential vocabulary points in the following sentences.

1. What can her handwriting tell us about her character?

2. My spirits sank when I looked at all the bills I had to pay.

3. My mother reproached me bitterly for not having let her know about this event.

4. I slipped on the snow and sprained my ankle.

5. Why should you always have an injured look?

Part II. Paraphrase the following sentences using appropriate essential vocabulary points:

1. The teacher said he was going to punish the pupil unless he did his homework properly.

2. This room has a special and unusual quality.

3. The truth was too obvious and my friend had too much intelligence to miss it.

4. My brother said that in practical affairs paying back evil for evil was a luxury he couldn’t afford.

5. My daughter never warned me about that until yesterday.

Part III. Translate into English using appropriate essential vocabulary points:

1. Сонце сідало за чорні хмари, що передвіщали грозу. “Діти, чому би нам не піти додому?” крикнула я. Однак вони не змигнувши оком, продовжували шпурляти камені в море. “Ці діти зведуть мене з розуму,” подумала я, даючи волю розпачу. “Наступного разу, коли мене попросять доглянути за чужими дітьми, я і пальцем не поворухну. ”

2. У тому, що ви говорите, є сенс. Тепер, коли ми знаємо, що інформацію перехопили, ми повинні вжити усі запобіжні заходи, щоб справа не зайшла занадто далеко.

3. Я волаю до твого здорового глузду. Хіба ти не розумієш, що якщо ти спробуєш помститися цим людям, це може привести до серйозних наслідків. Ти маєш категорично відмовитися брати участь у цій справі.

4. Новий менеджер, не тямлячи себе від люті, пригрозив дівчині, що він звільнить її, якщо вона не буде обережною у роботі з важливими документами. Як тільки менеджер вийшов, дівчина не витримала(утратила самовладання) і розплакалась.

5. Твій друг – великий оригінал. Вчора він прокрався (прослизнув) в акторську вбиральню і переодягся в костюм Офелії. Він був таким смішним, ми качалися від сміху.

Topical Vocabulary Test

Task 1.Give the corresponding nouns:

1) anxious 6) delighted

2) furious 7) amazed

3) excited 8) apprehensive

4) frightened 9) jealous

5) uncertain 10) bored

Task 2.Complete the following sentences with these words:

embarrassed, amazed, livid, terrified, jealous, dejected, exhausted, excited, secure, annoyed

1. We were ____ when we found out that there were terrorists on board the plane and they demanded we should land in Kuwait.

2. He was ____ when he saw people in the sea in the middle of winter.

3. It has been such a long day. I feel absolutely ____.

4. I felt ___ as I knew that the children were loved and looked after.

5. Repeated failure had left my friend feeling very ___.

6. Don’t keep asking him about his girlfriend. Can’t you see he’s ____?

7. The girl was extremely ___ at the way her colleague always stared at her in the office.

8. We’re really ___ about our wedding plans and need someone to talk them over.

9. My boyfriend doesn’t like it if I speak to other boys when we’re out. He’s really ___.

10. I was so ___ that I just tore the letter to pieces.

Task 3.Explain the meaning of the adjectives below:

exhilarated, disheartened, thrilled, edgy, apprehensive, mean, envious, furious, contented, sensitive

Task 4.Read the situations below. To each situation write a sentence describing what you might feel under the circumstances.

1. I didn’t understand any of the questions.

2. My parents have bought me a flat.

3. I’ve got my driving test tomorrow.

4. There’s a huge spider in the bathroom.

5. I’ve been up since half past five.

6. My Mum and Dad arrived at the club and started dancing.

7. I’ve got the results back from hospital today. They’re negative, thank goodness!

8. I forgot my Dad’s birthday again.

9. I came home to find my friends had organized a big party for me.

10. They talked about computers all evening.

Task 5.Write a passage (5-8 sentences) telling about some frightening, nervous or embarrassing experience you had. Use as many feeling words as possible. Do not also fail to use expressions describing your physical sensations.