THE HOTEL INSPECTOR

Sue Brown judges hotels for a living. Christopher Middleton watched her in action.
One minute into the annual inspection and things are already going wrong for the Globe Hotel. Not that they know it
yet. The receptionist reciting room rates over the phone to a potential guest is still blissfully unaware of the identity
of the real guest she is ignoring. 'Hasn't even acknowledged us,' Sue Brown says out of the corner of her mouth.
'Very poor.' It is a classic arrival-phase error, and one that Sue has encountered scores of times in her 11 years as
an inspector. 'But this isn't an ordinary three-star place,' she protests. 'It has three red stars, and I would expect
better.'
To be the possessor of red stars means that the Globe is rated among the top 130 of the 4,000 listed in the hotel
guide published by the organisation she works for. However, even before our frosty welcome, a chill has entered
the air. Access from the car park has been via an automatic door, operated by an impersonal buzzer, followed by a
long, twisting, deserted corridor leading to the hotel entrance. 'Again, not what I had expected,' says Sue.
Could things get worse? They could. 'We seem to have no record of your booking,' announces the receptionist, in
her best sing-song how-may-I-help-you voice.
It turns out that a dozen of the hotel's 15 rooms are unoccupied that night. One is on the top floor. It is not to the
inspector's taste: stuffiness is one criticism, the other is a gaping panel at the back of the wardrobe, behind which is
a large hole in the wall.
When she began her inspecting career, she earned an early reputation for toughness. 'The Woman in Black, I
was known as,' she recalls, 'which was funny, because I never used to wear black. And I've never been too tough.'
Not that you would know it the next morning when, after paying her bill, she suddenly reveals her identity to the
Globe's general manager, Robin Greaves. From the look on his face, her arrival has caused terror.
Even before she says anything else, he expresses abject apologies for the unpleasant smell in the main lounge.
'We think there's a blocked drain there,' he sighs. 'The whole floor will probably have to come up.' Sue gently
suggests that as well as sorting out the plumbing, he might also prevail upon his staff not to lead guests into the
room so readily. 'Best, perhaps, to conduct them to the other lounge,' she says. Greaves with pessimistic
enthusiasm takes notes. He has been at the Globe for only five months, and you can see him making a great effort
to believe Sue when she says that this dissection of the hotel can only be for the good of the place in the long run.
Not that it's all on the negative side. Exclusive approval is given to Emma, the assistant manager, and Trudy, the
young waitress, who dished out a sheaf of notes about the building's 400-year history. Dinner, too, has done
enough to maintain the hotel's two-rosette food rating, thereby encouraging Greaves to push his luck a bit. 'So what
do we have to do to get three rosettes?' he enquires. Sue's suggestions include: Not serve a pudding that
collapses.' The brief sparkle of light in Greaves' eyes goes out.
It is Sue Brown's unenviable job to voice the complaints the rest of us more cowardly consumers do not have the
courage to articulate. 'Sometimes one can be treading on very delicate ground. I remember, in one case, a woman
rang to complain I was to blame for his son being sacked. All I could say was the truth, which was that hed served
me apple pie with his fingers.' Comeback letters involve false allegations of everything, from a superior attitude to
demanding bribes. 'You come to expect it after a while, but it hurts every time,' she says.
Sue is required not just to relate her finding to the hotelier verbally, but also to send them a full written report. They
are, after all, paying for the privilege of her putting them straight. (There is an annual fee for inclusion in the guide.)
Nevertheless, being singled out for red-star treatment makes it more than worthwhile. So it is reassuring for
Greaves to hear that Sue is not going to recommend that the Globe be stripped of its red stars. That is the good
news. The bad is that another inspector will be back in the course of the next two months to make sure that
everything has been put right. 'Good,' smiles Greaves unconvincingly, Well look forward to that.'

Example:

0. When Sue Brown arrived at the hotel reception desk,

A. the receptionist pretended not to notice she was there.

B. she was not surprised by what happened there.
C. he decided not to form any judgements immediately.
1. On her arrival at the hotel, Sue was dissatisfied with
A. the distance from the car park to the hotel.
B. the temperature in the hotel
C. the other guests in the hotel.
2. What does the writer say about Sue's reputation?
A. It has changed.
B. It frightens people.
C. It causes Sue considerable concern.
3. When talking about the problem in the main lounge, Robin Greaves
A. assumes that Sue is unaware of it.
B. says other people are to blame for the problems..
C. doubts that Sue's comments will be of benefit to the hotel.
4. When Sue makes positive comments about the hotel, Robin Greaves
A. reminds her that they compensate for her criticisms of it.
B. becomes hopeful that she will increase its food rating.
C. finds it impossible to believe that she means them.
5. Angry reactions to Sue's comments on hotels
A. are something she always finds upsetting.
B. sometimes make her regret what she has said.
C. are of no importance for her.
6. When Sue leaves the hotel, Robin Greaves
A. is confident that the next inspection will be better.
B. tries to look pleased that there will be another inspection.
C. decides to ignore what she has told him about the hotel.
0

B. Find words or expressions in the text with the following meaning:

Example: - declaiming, speaking (paragraph 1). ____RECITING ____
7. happily, gladly (paragraph 1)_______________
8. ranked, ordered (paragraph 2)_______________
9. document, file (paragraph 3) _______________

10. strictness, rigorousness (paragraph 5) _______________

TASK 2
Read the text and complete each blank with ONE suitable word from the list supplied. Write your
answers in the box provided. Each word can be used only ONCE. There are 5 words you will not
need. (20 x 05 = 10 points)

MARK

Oscars 2010: Can the show go on for the Academy's TV ceremony?

This year the Academy took a gamble but voters turned against Avatar, the popular choice. With a shabby TV
ceremony, it might not be long before audiences turn away too.
First reports (0)____claim__ that the American television audience for this year's Oscars (1)__________ was 14
points up on last year's. That's good news for the Academy, even (2)__________ it may not be as much as they
hoped for. Make no mistake about it, this was a crisis year for the Academy (3)__________ several years in a row
in which the Oscar audience had been in decline. (4)__________, the Academy is not sustained by God or the US
Treasury. It's an independent institution that depends on (5)__________ one-night-a-year television income. In
turn, that relates to the price ABC can charge for commercial time (6)__________ the broadcast.
But the news is not all good. The essential problem in recent years has been that the films in nomination (let alone
the films that have won) have been seen by too (7)__________ people. The climax in that trend was when No
Country for Old Men and There Will be Blood ruled the awards (8)__________ neither film had a significant boxoffice return.
So this year the Academy took a gamble. They decided to nominate 10 films for best picture because that might
draw into the pool a few more films with which the general (9)__________ was familiar. So, this year's 10 included
The Blind Side and Avatar, (10)__________ of them crowd-pleasers. With The Blind Side, the strategy worked.
The best picture nomination helped draw (11)__________ to Sandra Bullock's performance and so this year's best
actress winner was one that a lot of people had seen, enjoyed and understood.
If that strategy or logic had held, then Avatar (12)__________ have won best picture. After all, it has a box office
figure of more than $700 million, while The Hurt Locker is still under $20 million. Avatar was a sensation for a few
weeks. Then you could feel (13)__________ coming back with the admission that the story, the script and the
acting weren't much. And that's when the voting members of the Academy turned.
They knew what the Academy was (14)__________ to, and hoping for. They knew that Avatar was the soft ball
begging to be hit out of the park with James Cameron delivering another king of the world show. And then as I
read it enough of the voters said to themselves, no, I'm not going to be a stooge. Avatar is an amazing show, but
it's pretty empty. Whereas The Hurt Locker is tough, independent, trying to show an unpleasant reality, and
(15)__________ stunningly well-made for next to nothing. Call it the underdog, or the integrity choice, The Hurt
Locker won the vote (16)__________ meant that as the show ended and the big prizes came down they were
going to another movie very few in the TV audience had seen.
So we'll see what happens next. The Academy will talk big about better numbers, but they need to see that their
show was over-long, low on class and incident and generally shabby. There weren't too many surprises until the
end. It was a (17)__________ mistake to hive the honorary Oscars off to another show. Martin and Baldwin never
found themselves. And any real moviegoer knows that the stars did not come out this Sunday. Meanwhile, the
legend builds that the Oscars evening is for film experts instead (18)__________ the vast audience. Of course,
the deepest problem is that Hollywood no (19)__________ knows how to make pictures for that big audience that
have a shred of quality. The Hurt Locker won this year in an act of (20)__________. Avatar was the big Hollywood
picture and the Academy turned against it. But this may prove a step towards the Academy's own conclusion.

after
defiance
longer
which

attention
during
moreover
while

audience
of
who

boredom
few
quite
would

both
from
says

if
show

claim
in
stunning

crass
its
up

0
1
2
3
4
5

CLAIM
6
7
8
9
10

11
12
13
14
15

16
17
18
19
20

KEY - READING COMPREHENSION JUNE 2010

TASK 1

7. BLISSFULLY
8. RATED
9. RECORD
10. TOUGHNESS
(Adapted from The Daily Telegraph, The Hotel Inspector by Christopher Middleton)

TASK 2
0
1
2
3
4
5

CLAIM
SHOW
IF
AFTER
MOREOVER
ITS

6
7
8
9
10

DURING
FEW
WHILE
AUDIENCE
BOTH

11
12
13
14
15

ATTENTION
WOULD
BOREDOM
UP
QUITE

16
17
18
19
20

(Adapted from The Guardian.co.uk, Oscars 2010: Can the show go on for the Academy's TV ceremony?, by
David Thomson)
distractors: says, who, from, stunning, in