Gateway B2 Unit 2 Reading And Use Of English

A KatyPeople are always asking me what I’m going to do in the future and until now I haven’t really known how to reply. It’s difficult to explain that I think my future lies in writing. When I first mentioned it to my parents, they didn’t laugh but they acted as though it was something I would grow out of and they were confident that I would get a ‘proper job’ eventually. But I’ve always been serious about being a writer. I love the English language and I’ve been a keen reader since the age of five. I’ve done a lot of short stories and some have been printed in magazines. What I’d really like is to write thrillers. I know that sounds crazy and many people don’t think thrillers are real books at all. But I love a good puzzle, so that’s what I say now. ‘I’m going to be a thriller writer.’ Then I wait to see the expression on people’s faces!B GilesMy dad and my uncle were both journalists and wrote for Sunday newspapers. We always had people in the house who were connected with newspapers and news and I grew up with their conversations in the background. It must have rubbed off on me because I desperately want to follow in Dad’s footsteps and become a journalist, too. I don’t think I’d like to do exactly the same as he did – he was a political journalist – because I’m not that serious about politics, but I’d like to travel and maybe write reports from different places around the world. I can see myself writing about environmental problems in Australia or North Africa or somewhere like that.C TerryWhen you’re a kid, you have no real idea of what you’re going to do in the future. You might have a dream of being a famous footballer or actress or even a princess (that was my younger sister’s strong belief!). But most people don’t really know the sort of person they’re going to be, so deciding on a future career is tricky. It was only last summer that I suddenly knew what I wanted to do and that was to become a writer. I’ve always done drama in my free time and I suddenly realised that I was pretty good at writing dialogue. So next term I’m going to start a screen writing course. With luck, one day I’ll be writing the soaps and dramas you watch on TV!D SarahWe had a creative writing course at my secondary school last year and I went on it because I’ve liked writing for a long time. I always wrote diaries when I was younger and I also used to write short, funny stories for the other kids in my class to read at primary school. However, it soon became quite clear that I wasn’t going to be the next great English novelist! I’m just not patient enough and I don’t think I’ve got the skill to write complex books. But I am clever with words, so what I’d like to do is to go into the advertising world, writing adverts. What you need in that job is to write things that are catchy but short and funny. I think it’s the right profession for me because there will be lots of variety and I’ll be working in a busy, fast-moving world. I’m glad I went on the creative writing course though, because I learned that there are all sorts of jobs which involve writing, which is why I’ve made this decision. 

Match the statements (1–6) with the people (A–D). You can choose the people more than once. Write the correct LETTER (A-D) in the boxes.Which person:1 believes his/her choice of career was influenced by his/her upbringing? [Blank]2 has chosen a writing career because of another hobby? [Blank]3 has already had some success with his/her writing? [Blank]4 wants a job working in a high-pressure environment? [Blank]5 says that family members didn’t believe he/she was serious about his/her future plans? [Blank] 6 enjoys writing things that other people find humorous? [Blank]

Complete the text with one word in each gap.Last summer I applied for a holiday job in an architect’s office because I was thinking of training as an architect. Unfortunately they turned me (1) [Blank] because there was a candidate who was already studying architecture and they thought she wouldn’t need as much training. However, two weeks later I got a call asking if I was still interested in the job. The person they (2) [Blank] employed had been sacked because she spent most of her time on the phone and never did the things she was asked to do! They (3) [Blank] working on a big project to renovate a museum and they really needed someone to start right away. Of course I said yes. My job wasn’t very exciting – I was responsible (4) [Blank] photocopying documents for all the meetings and dealing (5) [Blank] phone calls about the project and making lots of coffee – but I didn’t mind because I was learning so much. Every morning one of the partners (6) [Blank] explain everything to me in great detail and I learned a lot about the business side of the firm, which was something I had never really considered before. I discovered that I enjoyed (7) [Blank] all the paperwork and by the end of the summer I was like her personal assistant. Later, when I applied to university, she wrote a letter saying that I had (8) [Blank] working for her firm all summer and that I had done a good job. I was able to talk about my experience at the interview and I think it really helped me to get a place on my course. But I’m not training to be an architect. I’m doing a degree in business administration and I love it!

Read the article again and choose the best answers, A, B or C.Katy found it difficult to

She thinks that thrillers are considered 

Giles wants 

Terry believes that young people find it difficult to choose a career because they 

Sarah