[1] Nigel, a property developer was 30 when we met. He kept coming round to ask me out for a drink. When I agreed, we found that we got on well. We liked each other and felt committed to the relationship. It was only a matter of months before Nigel proposed, and I said "yes" at once.

[2] I thought that after I was married I would be able to continue with my career. When I met Nigel I had been studying at the London College of Fashion for three years. I was lucky enough to have had instant success as a designer after a buyer from Harrods* came to my graduation to show that I was able to start selling him my collection.

[3] Because of work, I was often at trendy parties, mixing with lots of celebrities but my husband didn't join me because he was busy with work, or so he said. His feeling was that I was having plenty of fun but not making much money. Everyday Nigel seemed to be talking me down and eroding my confidence. He would say, "you must be spending more on materials than you're getting back". He would never give up on his point of view so I ended by accepting that it was right. Because of Nigel's attitude, I gave up my career and, not long after that I fell pregnant.

[4] I can see now that it was more like a battle of wills than a marriage, with Nigel feeling competitive about my success. I had a growing feeling of resentment that I wasn't fulfilling what I wanted to do.

[5] Having been a regular face at some of the trendiest parties in London, I became a wife and a mother and, over the next few years, I didn't go out. Instead, I focused my attention on our five-bedroom house, but I always missed the social life I had left behind.

[6] In withdrawing from what I wanted to do I became, in Nigel's eyes, even less of a person in my own right and any opinion I had didn't mean anything.

The Daily Mail Thursday, April 29, 1999.

* Harrods : A fashionable department store in West London. 1

  (   ) a - praising herself as a designer ; 
  (   ) b - pitying herself for being a mother ;
  (   ) c - complaining about her husband .

2. Pick out details from the text showing that the following statements are false .( 3 pts ) 

a - The writer hesitated a lot when Nigel asked her to marry him. (paragraph 1)
 .......................................................................................................................
b - Before marrying Nigel the writer was not successful as a designer. ( paragraph 2 )
 ........................................................................................................................
c - The writer expected her career to be over after marriage ( paragraph 2 )
 .......................................................................................................................

3. Tick ( () the right alternative. ( 3 points ) 

4. a - " What I wanted to do. " ( paragraph 4 ) means :
 - I wanted to stay at home and look after Nigel.
 - I wanted to continue with my career as a designer. 
 - I wanted to leave Nigel because he was an obstacle to my success.

b - " Having been a regular face at the trendiest parties " ( paragraph 5 ) means : 
- I used to go to the trendiest parties on a regular basis ; 
- I used to see new faces at the parties I went to ;
 - I had to face going to those parties.

c - " Nigel feeling competitive about my success " ( paragraph 4 ) means : 
- There was no competition between Nigel and myself . 
- Nigel believed he should be more successful than me . 
- Nigel didn't object to my being successful.

4.Put the following adjectives in the right boxes to describe Nigel and the writer .( 3 pts ) 

5. Find in the text words having nearly the same meaning as the following : ( 1 pt ) 
a - immediate ( paragraph 2) ..................................................................................
b - famous people ( paragraph 3 ) ............................................................................

6. What do the underlined words in the text refer to ? ( 1 pt ) 
a - him ( paragraph 2 ) refers to ................................................................................ 
b - it ( paragraph 3 ) refers to .....................................................................................

If your parents have always been racist and still don't see sense, there is very little you can do to change their views . It's very hard to reason ..................... racists. Let them alone change their ..................... . Your only ..................... is to be true to yourself - you know what's right and ..................... and have to live ..................... to that . You must make a stand and try to stop your parents ..................... your boyfriend. After all you've ..................... to marry him and ..................... the rest of your life with him - not them. You owe it to him not to have to ..................... . If your parents can't be happy for you, it's their ..................... not yours.

2. Put the bracketed verbs in the right tense or form. ( 4.5 pts )

A taxi driver knocked a nine-year-old boy then [ charge ] ................................ . £ 10 to take him to hospital . 
Lewis Kendal [ run ] ................................ to catch a coach when he [ step ] ................................ in front of the taxi and [ knock ] ................................ into the air, [ suffer ] ................................... a broken leg . 
The driver offered the [ injure ] ................................ youngster a lift to hospital then charged his dad, Mark, 
full fare for the five-mile trip to Bristol Royal Infirmary. Yesterday, his mum Tracey stormed : " How could he have the nerve to do this ? I'm just glad he [ not ask ] ................................ for a tip. 
The family later [ insist ] ............................ they didn't blame the taxi driver for the accident - which [ leave ] ................................ Lewis in plaster for six weeks ."

3. circle the right alternative. ( 4.5 pts )

Large sports clubs as they exist in many European countries do not exist in the United States. Organized sports and competitions ( which / who / whose ) take place within an educational context in schools and colleges usually have excellent sports ( abilities / facilities / possibilities ) swimming pools, basket ball, courts, stadiums etc ... provide the equipment and training needed, and ( maintaining / maintained / maintain ) teaching and coaching staff to run athletics programs at ( these / this / that ) institutions . Students who make the team have to work hard in their sport to ( fulfill / feel / fill ) the expectations of coaches, the schools and the public. But they must also ( met / meet / meeting ) the academic ( require / required / requirements ) of the institutions and study 
( because / so as / so that ) they can ( graduating / graduate / to graduate ) from a high school or college .