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APTIS TRAINING MATERIAL

Aptis Reading
(25 Questions
Task

- 30 minutes)

Choose one word {A, B or C) for each space and write the letter on the paper. The first one {0)
is done for you as an example with the answer A marked on your answer paper.

Dear Sir,

My son, Kevin, left

0) A

two months ago and now he is looking for his first

1)-.B

The

problem is that companies always 2)- A they want people with experience, but how can he
get experience if no one gives him a job? He reads the

3)-C

there is nothing for people like him. Today he's

4)-

neighbours to

5)-

a bit of money, but he needs a realjob.

Mr. G Carter

EXAMPLE 0

1
2
3
4
5

Aschool
Awork
Asay
,A news
Amaking
Aearn

Bhome
Bjob
Btell
B text
Bhaving
Bget

Cme
CoccuPation
Cask
C adverts
Cdoing
Cspend

in the paper every day, but

some gardening

for

our

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APTIS TRAINING MATERIAL

Task 2
Order the sentences (B-G) below to make a story. Write your answers on the answer paper
(Questions 6-L1).

The first sentence of the story (A) is given for you on the answer paper as an example.

A
B
C

Harland Sanders was born in the USA in 1890, but his childhood wasn't a happy one.
That was when he first learned to cook.
Over the next nine years Harland developed his secret chicken recipe that made him
famous.
Sanders continued to work for KFC as a public spokesman and visited restaurants all
over the world until he died in 1980, aged 90.
His father died when he was four and his mother had to find a job to support the
family, so Harland stayed at home to look after his younger brother and sister.
ln the 1950s he decided to close down his restaurant and sold the secret recipe to
other businesses one of which became Kentucky Fried Chicken.
He left home when he was twelve and he had a number of different jobs, including
being a service station manager in Corbin, Kentucky, where he cooked for hungry
travellers.

D
E
F
G

0)

6)

7'l
8)

e)

10)

11) D

ttext adapted from http://www.ronford.net/ui/kfc3/townsouare/colonel/colhistorvl.htm)

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APTIS TRAINING MATERIAL

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Task 3

Read the text and match each space {12-18}with one word from the box below. Write the
Ietters (A-K) on the Answer Sheet. The answer to question 00 is given on your answer paper as

an example (L). You will not need to find five of the words.

A Hong Kong hotel has sold individual fi! to be used as homes. lt's one of the ways 12 are
trying to cope with soaring housing prices, which are among the highest in the world. The
hotel suites are cheaper than apartments in Hong Kong. Hundreds of people 13 up for hours to
buy a unit at the Apex Horizon Hotelthis week. It's not clear whether investors can legally live
in the suites but buyers are still eager. The hotel was able to sell all 360 of its suites in two
days - a sign there is a ltt for affordable housing. Hong Kong's low 15 rate has
attracted hordes of mainland Chinese investors. lt pushed home prices ts record highs last
year. Flats 16 an average of US$14000 per square metre in central locations. Many residents
feel they can no longer 17 to buy apartments.
Hong Kong people cope by renting makeshift homes on rooftops, while others move into socalled cage homes - hutches made from wire-mesh, stacked on top of each other in a tiny
room. The government's efforts to cool down 18 prices have not worked. So Hong Kong
residents have to be creative in finding space to live.
(text adapted from

htto://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learnineenelish/laneuaee/wordsinthenews/2013102/130225

witn hotel home.shtml)

Your answers:

00=L

queued
interest
afford
spend
residents
investors

property

save

A
B

c
D
E

K
L

lined
cost
demand
rooms

L2= F
13= A
L4= K
15= B
L6= J
77= C
L8= G

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APTIS TRAINING MATERIAL

Task 4
text below. Match the headings A-H to the paragraphs 0-5 (Questions 19-23). Write
your answers (A-H)on the paper. There 3 headings you don't need.
The answer to Paragraph 0 is given on the answer paper as an example (J).
Read the

Your answers:
Domestic specialties for the whole country

0)

The current pizza varieties

1e)

The reason why we can't take it home from the supermarket

20)

No pizza is complete without cheese

2t) H

You can be thankful for the poor

22) F

Where it comes from

23)

Tasty for all the family

Tribute to the First Lady

Nothing compares to the original

too many nations that can say their national dish has become an international
phenomenon. ltaly has two such dishes, pasta and of course pizza. ln America pizza usually
falls into two categories: thick and cheesy Chicago style or thin and traditional New York pizza.
ln ltaly pizza also falls into two distinct categories: ltalian pizza and the rest of the world. lt
might seem silly considering the basic ingredients, but one taste of a true ltalian pizza and
that's it. You will never feel the same about this simple and delicious food again.
0. There are not

L.

ln its basic'seasoned flatbread'form, pizza has a long history in the Mediterranean.

Several cultures including the Greeks ate a flatbread rnade from flour and water. The dough
would be cooked by placing it on a hot stone and then seasoned with herbs. The Greeks called
this early pizza "plankuntos" and it was basically used as an edible plate when eating stews or
thick broth. lt was not yet what we would call pizza today. These early pizzas were eaten from
Rome to Egypt to Babylon and were praised by the ancient historians Herodotus and Cato the
Elder.

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APTIS TRAIN]NG MATER]AL

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2.

The introduction of tomatoes to ltalian cuisine in the 18th and early 19th centuries
finally Bave us the true modern ltalian pizza. Even though tomatoes reached ltaly by the 1530s
it was widely thought that they were poisonous and were grown only for decoration.
However, the innovative (and probably starving) peasants of Naples started using the
supposedly deadly fruit in many of their foods, including their early pizzas. Since that fateful
day when peasants first used tomatoes, the world of ltalian cuisine would never be the same,
however, it took some time for the rest of society to accept this crude peasant food. Once
members of the local aristocracy tried pizza they couldn't get enough of it, which by this time
was being sold on the streets of Naples for every meal.

3.

to actual shops where people

could order a custom pizza with many different toppings. By 1830 the "Antica Pizzeria
Port'Alba" of Naples had become the first true pizzeria and this venerable institution is still
producing masterpieces. The popular pizza Margherita owes its name to ltaly's Queen
Margherita who in 1889 visited the Pizzeria Brandi in Naples. The Pizzaioli (pizza maker) on
duty that day, created a pizza for the Queen that contained the three colours of the new
As pizza popularity increased, street vendors gave way

Italian flag. The red of tomato, white of the mozzarella and fresh green basil was a hit with the
Queen and the rest of the world. Neapolitan style pizza had now spread throughout ltaly.

4.

The Pizza Margherita may have set the standard, but there are numerous popular
varieties of pizza made in ltaly today. Pizza from a pizzeria is the recognized round shape,
made to order and always cooked in a wool fired oven. Regional ltalian varieties are always
worth trying such as Pizza Marinara, a traditional Neapolitan from the south of ltaly is a pizza
that has oregano, anchovies and lots of garlic. Pizza Napoli: tomato mozzarella and anchovies.
Capricciosa: a topping of mushrooms, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, olives and a boiled egg.
Pizza Pugliese makes use of the local capers and olives of the area while Pizza Veronese from
the north of ltaly has mushrooms and tender Prosciutto crudo. Pizzas from the ltalian island of
Sicily can have numerous toppings ranging from green olives, seafood, hard-boiled eggs and
peas.

5.

pizza in an ltalian pizzeria is that the product

is personal size. Each person at a table should order their own individual pizza - one bite will
One thing

to keep in mind when ordering

explain why. ln certain areas outside ltaly, there are a few Piazzioli who keep to their
homeland traditions as best they can with the ingredients they have, but it really isn't the
same. ln the end there is no going back once you try a real ltalian pizza, no delivery or frozen
product will ever stimulate your taste buds the way a real ltalian pizza will!

Adapted from the article of Justin Demetri, lifeinitaly.com, TELC Angol Vizsgafeladatok)

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