Arab British Academy for Higher Education
Key
Activity One
a) George Seymour managed to succeed, first through his
‘ruthless determination’, then through his ability to
manage others and get on with them; he was a ‘good
mixer.’
b) He was skilled at looking ahead; he saw the future
advantages of electronics and the microchip and was
able to use the expertise of others for his own purposes.
c) i)
ii)
ii)
iv)
v)
vi)
vii)
viii)
ix)
x)
entrepreneur = someone who takes on an
enterprise with the risk of profit or loss
basic = minimum, simplest
ruthless = without pity or mercy
adaptability = ability to fit in with people or places
foresight = ability to see or think ahead
virtually = almost, nearly
essential = necessary, needed, required
elements = parts, features
priority = of first importance
fields = skill areas, specialities
d) i) bottom rung of the ladder = the lowest position in a
firm, employment
ii) reap the benefits = obtain advantage
Activity Two
a) The inhabitants lived in council houses which were
cheap, as they could not afford anything more expensive
b) winding over the hills, the roads in black thin strips lined
with red
c) a far cry = very different
unbearably = painfully, agonizingly
thrown up = built cheaply, carelessly
rolling = wavy, undulating
competed with = rivalled, compared with
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Activity Three
(These have to be only suggestions)
a) People who don’t wish to answer a question can turn to
red herrings (talking themselves out of it).
b) When you have a problem, do your best to avoid it
c) I can’t understand what you are saying
d) We noticed a large bump on his head
Activity Four
1.
a) influence b) venues c) solo d) temperamental e) encore f)
jewel
g) mediocre h) spawned i) hard j) panned
2.
a) agreed b) often c) calm, stable d) public e) brilliant,
outstanding
f) hated, detested g) easy h) displeased, annoyed
3.
a) apart from being one of the best/prettiest of the Surrey
villages
b) he was unconscious, sound asleep
c) she kept her thoughts/affairs to herself
4.
This again has to be a suggestion; your version may be
just as good:
In fact it wasn’t until later I discovered Mother had chosen
for us to live in Dimchurch; apart from being a jewel of a
Surrey village complete with thatched cottages and a main
street perfect for a period drama by Jane Austen, it had a
private music school. It wasn’t so well known in the big
world of professional music as the Menuhin, but it was a
worthy rival even though on a slightly less grandiose scale
5. This has to be just a suggestion
I still had to keep practising for my concert which was why
Mother never let me miss any of my lessons at Dimchurch
Academy. Though Dimchurch was a very pretty old
fashioned village, Mother had chosen for us to live there
simply because it had a music school. It was very good, but
not as famous as the Menuhin. I studied five years there
with a wonderful music teacher, Miss Humphrey, even if
she wasn’t well known. She never said I was brilliant,
seemed to think I was quite average, and in the end it was
only my mother who thought me great. Perhaps I wasn’t so
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good, but as I had faith in my mother, I kept on.
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6.
a) The father didn’t want to get involved in his wife’s
concerts as he didn’t like all the fuss
b) It had a music school
c) It was old fashioned and had a period main street.
d) A pundit is an expert; Mozart is not very popular in
competitions as he is considered too easy
e) Joanne did not think she was as good as her mother
made out; you could see the mother was nervous from
the fact she was unusually silent
Activity Five
a)
he refused his unchanging home, opting for a life on his
own where he was his own boss, rather than being in a
prison.
b)
i) he’d done something else ii) he believed things were
inevitable
c)
preoccupied (with) = centred on; concerned with = worried,
thinking about; subject (to) = prone (to), tending to get ;
loom (up) = come into view, appearing; solidly =
continuously, without stopping
d)
He knew she had had an attack of bronchitis, she had had
them before; but this one was serious and Joe was
prepared for the worst. As the train reached Runcorn, he
regretted he had not been home more often in the past two
years. But he liked his lonely independence, and on the
whole, though he was sorry, he knew that given the choice
he would have done the same again, life was inevitable!
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Activity Six
1.
a) One should read for enjoyment and thought
b) Less people read these days because books are
expensive and often difficult, sordid, and depressing
c) Books should not be too expensive, long, or difficult, and
they should be entertaining and exciting.
d) People enjoy books with colourful pictures, and about
attractive people even if they are in fantastic situations,
for example adventures, and in fantasy and fairy lands.
e) The prices of books will come down when lots of people
are anxious to buy them
2.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
miracles = wonders, great inventions
mite = rather, a bit, somewhat
alternative = replacement, something used instead
inflation = increase in prices
knock = criticize, find fault with
vicious circle = a roundabout situation providing no
escape
escalate = go up (quickly), increase
reputedly = by reputation, thought to be
penurious = poor, poverty stricken, hard up
tackle = get hold of, deal with
3.
a) in our great day and age = at the present important time
b) it’s the biggest turn-on = it gives you the greatest
excitement
c) in the good old days = during past times which seemed
better
to and behold = just look; what a surprise.
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d)