Exam practice | Living in the moment ‘A There have been many surveys into the nature of happiness, and one key conclusion seems tobe that spending money on fe experiences, instead of material tems, makes humans happier. This raises the question of how many experiences we should try to itn, and just when we should try to achieve these. People who live ‘in the moment’ (that is, live in the present time without planning for the future) are described by psychologists as having a "hedonistic time perspective, They seem tobe extremely happy. But why is that the case, and should we al ry todo it? B On the whole, psychological stucles have shown that people who lve in the moment and fil their lives with new ‘experiences experience positive emotions more frequently than those who focus on the past. These emotions, such a oy, love, amusement and compassion have important physical benefits too, The more you experience a range of positive emotions, the more a a chemical called serotonin you have in your brain cells. Serotonin helps regulate sleep, and assists memory and learning Because they often enjoy new experiences, people who try to lve in the moment are often better at dealing with changes, and new challenges. This is usually a result of not having a fixed way of doing things, and therefore being more flexible ‘when circumstances do not go as planned. Another big benefit | is that in choosing to take on new experiences, people will be more sociable - recent tests have shown that extrverts (people who are more outgoing) tend to be happier than more introverted people D There are, however, disadvantages to living in the moment ‘and filing your life with new experiences. It seems that people with a hedonistic time perspective may be very good at planning activities to fil their time, but they are nat so organized when it comes to saving money. Financial security is also one ofthe biggest contributors to overal happiness, Therefore, while focusing on the present is useful, it needs to be balanced with planning how much you spend, so that you ate not left with itl olive on in the future. E Perhaps the best answer would be to think carefully about all the things you want to achieve within a specitic period of time, and then save money to realize these goals. Increasingly, ‘people are writing bucket lists’ of experiences that they want to have in their lifetime, and then making these happen with careful planning. This way people can compromise by planning adventure and excitement, while working towards raising the funds to cover the costs. Reading 1. Choose the correct answers. 1. Many surveys into happiness have found that: ‘A. spending money makes you happier. B spending money on doing things makes you happier. © spending money on material goods makes you happier. 2 When people are happy they find it easier to A fallin love B_ learn about their emotions. sleep better and remember more 3 One of the largest contributors to happiness i A. being able to save money. B having enough money to feel secure. © being rch 2 Summarize the text in English. Take the main points from the text, but use your own words. (Max. 50 words) Use of English 3 1d words or expres definitions. ns in the text to match the 1. way of looking at things (para. A) 2. feeling sympathy for people (para. B) 3. definite (para. E) 4 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in bold. 1. Most people would really ike have) more free time if they could 2 don't like the idea of my money on material goods 3 How long have you holiday? ai (read) an artce about happiness wiile wias taking the Bus home. It was amazing! (spend) all (save) for your Writing 5 Choose one of the tasks. Write 100-150 words. 1 Wite about an experience that you've had which you feel changed your if forthe better. 2 Write an essay with the following title: ‘People can learn as much outside a classroom as they can inside one.” Discuss,Exam practice 2 bax Tettoatetea tat miei ‘A People have thought about the future of mankind throughout the ages. Whether the predictions are by scientists trying to determine how we will best survive in a new and challenging environment, or artists and writers imagining new worlds, the need to map out wit isto come seems to be a key part of being human, Some of these ideas will stay science fiction, but some very interesting predictions have come true. B In December 1900, an American engineer named Jotn freth Watkins wrote an article forthe Ladies’ Home Journal magazine which precited what fe would be tke inthe year 2000. These predictions were based on interviews with important American sciontists and academics. Watkins’ article accurately predicted mobile teleghones, the popularity of pre- prepared meais and television. Sadly, some of his predictions did not come true, but whats interesting is how accurate we can be at quessing what will happen in the wider word So what about predictions being made now? Around the World there is a growing number of futurologists who analyse data to work out how we wil lve 100 years from now. There is much debate about what fe is going tobe like, but there are some Key themes on how we wil ve atthe beginning of the twenty-second century. Many ofthese focus on population growth and the environment D thas been estimated that the global population wil be around 10 billion by 2115.As we will need to feed this vast ‘umber of people using the same amount of land that we hhave today, fturologists are predicting that we will ned to farm the oceans to meet demand. This wil not mean just farming for fish — there wil bean increase in farming algae as € source of biofuels, and they might also be used to feed other animais inthe food production chain. thas been suggested that genetically modified saltwater algae could be used to create fresh water fram the oceans. This would prevent the ‘water wars' that some scientists have predicted will happen in the next century E What about the environment? There are already signs that climate change will affect weather patterns, and make conditions less predictable. However, many scientists in the US support a programme to explore methods of ‘geoenginering’ the Earth's climate and using technology to protect against the worst effects of cimate change. Some weather control technology already exists —for example, we can make it rain — butin te future we may be able to cool the environment by spraying sun-rfleting particles into the atmosphere. nthe longer term, some people have even preicted that Mars wil be engineered to become habitable, Whatever happens, where we live will bea very different place from what itis today. Reading a 1. Read the text and mark the sentences true or false. Provide evidence from the text to justify your answers. 1 Tying to predict the future is an idea that appeals to both creative and scientific minds, 2 is casa prec ie ot Ro Wah SS the Ware 3. Scientists predict that we won't need to make many changes to the way we get our food, 2 Choose the correct answers, 1. John Elfreth Watkins’ predictions about the future were A. based on popular ideas from science fiction, B_ completely wrong, the result of research and discussions. 2. Scientists believe we will use algae as: A. asoutce of food B_ a source of fue! © a source of food and fue. 3. The goal of geoengineering isto: ‘A. make weather more predictable. B_ combat the effects of climate change C_ make it rain where we want, Use of English 3. Find words or expressions in the text to match the. definitions. 1. argument or discussion (paragraph C) 2 very large (paragraph D) 3 very small pieces (paragraph E) 4 Rewrite the sentences in the passive. 1. Humans need to map out what is to come. 2. People are making interesting predictions at the moment. 3. Scientists have made guesses about what the giobal population willbe Writing 5 Choose one of the tasks. Write 100-150 words. 1. Write a review of 2 book or film set in the future. Say why you think its vision of the future is likely or unlikely. 2. Write your predictions of what life will be like in 100 years from now. Give reasons for your predictions,Exam practice 3 BU aoe RO TIuE A 30 films have been around for a long time — the first film ee the audnce woe 8D gasses was sown in 822. was 30 years later that the ‘golden era’ of 3D film-making began, when big studios started to put money into projects: using the technology. This was done to try to draw audiences away from ever more popular televisions, and back to the Ghera Dug spe may fms were aderised as having power eet on he ailences it was suggested that fins woul eaeaudenes sacked an eae, ut ‘much of this was just an attempt to gain more publicity ina Conpetve wot etn ins guy deceased B In recent years 3D cinema has retumed to our screens. This return has provided a lot of debate over cost and quality Critics think that 3D gives cinemas the chance to increase ticket prices, and that the scenes designed to display the effect are predictable and often unnecessary. But some supporters feel that 3D could save the fim industry. They believe that modern 30 technology makes going to the cinema ‘a more realistic and personal experience. But is this true? © Some recent research by Or Brendan Rooney, of University College Dublin, has shown that 3D cinema could have physical and psychological effects onthe viewer. Scientists did a series of experiments in which viewers were asked to watch eight different short fim clips while alone ina cinema, The scientists chose sad or fighting cigs so that people ‘would be more likely to have an emotional response. The viowers wore divided into two groups — one group watched the clips in 20, and the other inthe 30 format. During the viewing researchers monitored the viewers’ heart rates and perspiration, D After watching the clips, the 3D audience said that they found the scenes more realistic than people in the 20 group. They also had higher hear rates than the 20 group. Scientists believe that this occurred because their brains told them that what they were seeing was real. They fet upset or scared because ofthe images, so their hearts beat faster. This is different to a normal reaction toa 20 film because what people see then is less realistic, so viewers can remind themselves that its not real ~ their brains help keep them calm, E Although research int te effects of SD cinema is at avery early stage, itis making people think about how these effects ‘may be used by flm studios inthe future. t also makes us ask ourselves how real we want our fims to be. Perhaps inthe future fms wil come witha heath warning. Something that happened with those ‘shocking’ 30 films of 50 years apo. Reading 1 Read the text and mark the sentences true or false. Provide evidence from the text to justify your answers. 1. 3D cinema has always been popular. 2. The Experiments into the effect of 30 cinema tested minds and bodies, 3. The realism of 30 cinema doesn’t affect viewers, 2. Choose the correct answers. 1. During the 1950s, A. 3D cinema became more expensive B TV became more and more popular Cinema audiences grew much larger. 2 Modern 30 films are often criticized because A. they cost too much to make. B_ they are of poor quality. they are expensive to see, 3. During the experiment, people who watched 30 films A had higher heart rates than people who watched in 2D, B_ were calmer than people who watched in 2D, had lower heart rates than people who watched in 2D. Use of English 3. Find words or expressions in the text to match the definitions. 1 show (paragraph 8) 2 checked (paragraph C) 3. happened (paragraph D) 4. Join the sentences using the relative pronouns. 1. 3D isa type of cinema. It dates back to 1915. (which) 2. There are many critics of 30 cinema. They say its too expensive. (who) 3. That the cinema, We watch 3D films there. (where) Writing 5 Choose one of the tasks. Write 100-150 words. 1 Write a biography of an actor, actress, or character from a film you have watched 2. Write an informal email toa friend recommending the lat jim you saw. Ask your fiend questions about their recent film experiences