Statements 1 through 10 (on your answer sheet circle + if the statement is true, - if it is false)

Reading Comprehension Test

For 11th Form Students

 

DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET UNTIL ADVISED BY THE TEACHER

 

DICTIONARIES ARE NOT ALLOWED

 

 

 

STUDENT NUMBER ____________

 

DIFFERENT STAGES OF FRIENDSHIP

 

I have had experiences where I felt closeness with a person who I just met, and we were able to become friends instantly as if we had known each other for a long time. I can call that person a soul mate because I felt my soul drawn to him or her for no reason and irrespective of sex, age, and race. I have a friend, Kaori, who I met just nine years age, and I remember vividly what we did and talked about even though I don't remember her face clearly any more. However, we have kept in touch with each other to this day. An event like this happens only occasionally in our lives because it usually takes time to become friends and to cultivate friendships. For that reason, we have different kinds of friendships, depending usually on how long we have known the friends. The process of making friends can be divided into three stages: new friends and acquaintances, true friends, and best friends.

There are many reasons why people become friends such as feelings of familiarity, having things in common, or having the same experience. For example, when I was taking an English class, I had many classmates, but I could not get to know everyone. Some of them became my friends because they were friendly and easy to talk to, because we spent time doing something together in class, or because we had the same purpose: a desire to improve our English. However, some of them remained only acquaintances because we didn't keep in touch after the course without definite reasons. They were friends at that time only, and the reasons for this that come to mind are that we led busy lives and that we didn't have much in common because of no longer being classmates. However, we shared qualities of friendship such as warmth and encouraging one another at that time although we were only acquaintances.

Moving on to the second stage, a true friendship would be a deeper relationship; it is natural for us to be true friends if we spend time together and get to know one another. For instance, some of my former classmates are still my friends, and we sometimes have lunch, go shopping, or talk on the phone even though we are not classmates any more. We are becoming true friends and building friendships because we are getting to know each other better gradually on account of spending time together. As a result, we have trust, understanding, and affection in our friendships.

DO NOT WRITE IN THIS BOOKLET.

 

1.      Becoming friends usually depends on a set of different factors.

2.      It is more common to become best friends after quite a while.

3.      Keeping in touch is essential for friendships.

4.      Warm feelings are not necessarily the sign of friendship only.

5.      True friendship does not imply knowing each other better.

6.      Being a best friend puts certain obligations on a person.

7.      People are very likely to display their selves in public.

8.      Not all range of possible topics is open for discussion between best friends.

9.      It happens that people change friends with the flow of time.

    10.     Friendships normally help people understand themselves rather than others.

 

 * TEXT 2

CHRISTMAS ON YOUR OWN CAN BE A SPECIAL TREAT

 

Home alone at Christmas. Imagine it. How does the prospect make you feel? Unbearably sad, slightly panic-stricken, or filled with a thrilling sense of liberation?

In the relentless round of Yuletide festivities, spending December 25 solo has become the ultimate taboo. Mention to friends that you will be dining toute seule before settling down to watch the BBC blockbuster with just the cat for company, and you will invariably be met with gasps of dismay, followed by a flurry of well-meant, if clumsy, invitations. The idea that anyone might actively seek to spend the day on their own makes others feel uncomfortable - even those who freely admit they don't get on with their family and find the day pure purgatory. But for many people there's a word of difference between solitude and loneliness.

Of course some people, whether through family breakdown or divorce, find they have no option but to spend Christmas on their own. The Women's Royal Volunteer Service estimates that around a million elderly people will spend this Christmas alone.

"There's a huge pressure on people to comfort at Christmas, and that can cause heartache for those who don't have a traditional family circle", says social psychologist Arthur Cassidy. "Others opt out because they want to take stock and invest in themselves rather than engaging in all the compromise that being in a large group of people involves. In our hectic modern world, having time to contemplate is a rare luxury".

So, what to do if you feel like spending Christmas alone? Firstly, you could flee the country. Skiing holidays offer one person alternative, as there's plenty to do, and December 25 is just like any other day. Or, if warmer weather appeals, companies such as Travel One (which specializes in lone travellers) will be dispatching hundreds of singletons to sundry sunkissed destinations this Christmas. "Our clients prefer to be with like-minded people somewhere sunny at Christmas", says Travel One director John Phillips. "There's no enforced jollity on December 25. We do hold a special gala dinner on Christmas Day, but it's entirely optional".

Of those who choose to stay at home, some may be charitably-minded and devote part of their day to doing good works at a homeless shelter. Others will prefer to plan a perfect day of pampering.

One of the joys of Christmas alone is not having to share the remote. But festive television can be depressing at the best of times, so have a couple of DVDs on hand to spare yourself endless Only Fools and Horses repeats. And remember that you don't need other people to have a lovely day. In fact, when you tell your stressed-out friends what a fabulously relaxing me-time you've got lined up, they'll probably wish they'd thought of it first.

While cultivating a friendship, you might find a best friend whom you can confide in, whom you do all you can for without expecting anything in return, and whom you sacrifice your time or energy for willingly if he or she needs you.

A best friend will accept and respect you, keep confidences, and be loyal to you. When you can get a friendship like this, it is not too much to say that you are fortunate, for it is difficult to find a best friend. That is so because it is hard to accept and respect differences in feelings, thoughts and personalities, and also because we are afraid to reveal ourselves. Fortunately, my best friend, Mikako, and I got over these difficulties. For example, we know each other's shortcomings and if necessary, we advise each other to mend them. However, we can accept them because we know each other very well, so they are not serious problems in our friendship. Also we confide in each other and share our personal events and feelings no matter whether they are good or bad. We want to listen to each other's opinions even if we disagree or disapprove of them because we accept and respect each other, and we know we value each other's opinions.

We have different kinds of friends in different parts of our lives, but not all friendships last forever. However, they are parts of our lives and our memories even though some of them are only acquaintances. While building a friendship, we learn and benefit from our friends through their encouragement, affection, support, trust, and kindness. When we have a good relationship with someone, it makes us feel happy and joyful. And friendship makes us more human as it helps us to realize that others have the same needs as we do that friendship fills. In the end, friendship helps us to see how precious life is and why we are living.

 

DO NOT WRITE IN THIS BOOKLET.