ĆWICZENIA – L2 049 Czytanie

In this task six phrases have been removed from the text and placed at the bottom. An extra phrase has
been included. You must decide which phrase goes into which gap and write the letter in the box below
the sentences.

HOME SWEET HOME

Recent media articles on military housing have raised a lot of controversy. Their findings made
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon launch an urgent inquiry to check …(1)… .
According to the articles, families were making around 1,000 complaints a week to
CarillionAmey, the firm responsible for providing housing services for British soldiers and their
families. Still worse, more than 7,000 people have recently signed a petition demanding …(2)… . “I am
deeply concerned by these reports and I want them to be thoroughly checked as a matter of urgency.
It is unacceptable that brave Service personnel and their families, who offer this country so much, have
to put up with such poor conditions”, Mr Fallon said. That is why …(3)… to identify what they can do to
improve this situation as soon as possible.
In 2018 the Army Families Federation (AFF) was contacted 2,808 times over accommodation
issues, a 23 per cent increase on 2017. Sara Baade, the chief of the organization, has said she is now
pushing …(4)… . She added the government needs to say how it will fix the problem.
Sara Baade said that the AFF has raised this at every level, including with the prime minister
at a meeting in January. The Defence Secretary says …(5)… . He also hopes that it will be honest, with
all the parties taking ownership of their responsibilities. He believes that it is high time for improved
services.
The news was better elsewhere on the defence estate, though. Army Air Corps (AAC) personnel
have been praising their new accommodation at RNAS Yeovilton following their relocation from
Germany. Capt Rich Carter, QM for 1 Regiment, AAC, said the handover of the facilities had been
smooth. He added that they are modern and spacious and have been cleverly designed to provide
completely flexible housing which will allow …(6)…, if required.

… A … he’s going to call in chief executives of the firm
… B … if Army families were living in poorly maintained accommodation
… C … that he is pleased the investigation is taking place
… D … if he’s going to upgrade the existing facilities there
… E … for an action plan to be announced by the MoD
… F … for the regiment to reorganize in the future
… G … that the firm lose its housing contract with the Army

źródło:CKEJO MON © 2019

Read the text and circle T for True or F for False.

SPEED DEMONS

Many people try to break speed records, both on land and water, but perhaps none are so
famous as Englishman Donald Campbell. It is now over fifty years since Donald Campbell set his
amazing water-speed record of 444 km/h, but the story did not start there. After all, his father
Malcolm had made a habit of breaking records too. Campbell Sr broke the world land-speed record an
astonishing nine times between 1924 and 1935. Malcolm Campbell was a daredevil associated with
futuristic cars – all of which he named “Blue Bird”. Malcolm Campbell also broke the water-speed
record four times. And what were his speedboats called? You guessed it: “Blue Bird”.
A hard act to follow, but Donald Campbell didn’t do too badly at all… He started off on water,
attempting to set new speed records in his father’s Blue Bird K4, but never mastered it and had a 273-
km/h crash in 1951. That crash proved the turning point, though. Donald came up with his own
design, a hydroplane that he named Bluebird K7 (“Bluebird” spelled as one word, to distinguish it from
his father’s speedboat), and used it to break the world water-speed record seven times in nine years,
starting in 1955.
Naturally enough, Donald wanted to try and break the land-speed record too, though his start
was anything but promising. He had a serious crash in 1960, while travelling more than 579 km/h,

during an attempt at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA. He not only nearly destroyed his Bluebird-
Proteus CN7 car, but almost killed himself too. It took some time for him to recover, but two years later

he was ready to try again, with a rebuilt and improved CN7, at Lake Eyre salt flats in Australia. Nature
had other ideas, however: after nine years of drought, heavy rains came to Lake Eyre, just after Donald
had started. The attempt had to be postponed.
By 1964, Donald Campbell was ready to give it another go. Despite unfavourable damp
conditions, on 17 July he recorded an average speed of 648.73 km/h and broke the world record.
Perhaps surprisingly, Donald was not happy, as the CN7 had been designed to get closer to 800 km/h.
He had expected it to go faster! Still, he now held the official land-speed record! And there was more to
come.
Later that year, Donald travelled to Lake Dumbleyung, near Perth in Western Australia. He was
determined to break the water-speed record. He had lots of problems however – everything from
unfavourable easterly winds to moulting ducks that were unable to fly from the lake and left him
without a clear path. But in a narrow window of opportunity on the very last day of 1964, he pushed
his Bluebird to an unprecedented speed of 444.71 km/h, shattering the existing record of 418.99 km/h
that he himself had set in 1959 on Lake Coniston in Cumbria, UK. In so doing, he became, and still
remains, the only person ever to have set both the land and water-speed world records in the same
year.
Malcolm and Donald Campbell lived for the thrill and challenge of record-breaking. And
tragically, Donald died for it. As he attempted to break his own water-speed record once more, on 4
January 1967 on Lake Coniston, his Bluebird K7 flipped up as it approached 853 km/h, during a return
run. The vehicle somersaulted and crashed, killing him instantly. It was an abrupt and wholly
unexpected end. But those eight world speed records provide a truly remarkable legacy.

1. Malcolm Campbell broke the water-speed record nine times. T F
2. In 1951, Donald Campbell had a bad crash in Bluebird K7. T F
3. Lake Eyre in Australia proved to be lucky for Donald. T F
4. Donald was disappointed with his 1964 record speed. T F
5. Ducks caused problems for Campbell near Perth, Australia. T F
6. Donald broke both the land and water-speed records in one year. T F
7. Donald Campbell died trying to break a new land-speed record. T F

źródło: CKEJO MON © 2019

Read the text and choose the best answer A, B or C.

ORIGINAL GANGSTER

It would seem that the red carpet at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival is only for the privileged.
On it you see people like Julianne Moore or Francis Ford Coppola. This year, however, it isn’t the stars
that have caused the most sensation. The festival’s highlight is a unique feature movie, O.G. (Original
Gangster), directed by Madeleine Sackler. One of its stars, 36-year-old Theothus Carter, hasn’t been
able to attend the festival, as he is going to be in prison until 2076. He is serving 65 years at the
Pendleton Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Indiana, where O.G. was filmed. Carter’s
girlfriend, Talishia Collier, whose two-day stay in New York has been financed by the filmmakers,
appeared on the red carpet instead of her convict boyfriend. O.G. is among very few movies filmed
inside a working prison. The actors were mostly actual prisoners and guards. But how did Carter make
his way into the film and what inspired Sackler to work on such a project?
When Theothus Carter was eleven, he stole a car, just for fun. This led to his first arrest. By the
time he was thirteen, Carter began each morning by smoking a joint and was often drunk by noon. His
main skill was beating people up and he soon became well known for being violent towards fellow
students. When he was fourteen, his father was shot and killed by a family friend who’d got into an
argument with Carter’s brother over a box of joints. As Carter’s mother was very ill at the time, and
Carter had already developed a reputation of a school bully, the Indianapolis family court decided to
send him to a juvenile home.
In later years, Carter was in and out of jail for various offences. Out again in 2011, he was short
of money and decided to burgle a house in a rich neighbourhood. He thought no one was at home, so,
when the owner suddenly walked in on him, he was so surprised that he dropped his gun by accident.
The owner started shouting, telling his wife to call the police. Carter quickly picked up the gun and,
without a second thought, shot the man, who nearly died as a result. When the police arrived, Carter
claimed self defence, but the police found no evidence of a fight. As a result, he was convicted of
attempted murder and sentenced to sixty-five years in jail.
In 2014, news reached the cell blocks that a crew was coming to Pendleton to make a feature
film. O.G. is about an older prisoner who befriends a younger inmate. It was to be shot inside the
prison, using inmates and guards as actors. Carter jumped at the opportunity. However, at the time, he
wasn’t allowed to participate. You had to be free of any disciplinary offences, and he had just been
caught with a quarter pound of marijuana. But, as the film audition came near, Carter’s disciplinary
period ended, and he got a chance to read for two roles.
His ability to act convincingly as two very different characters fascinated the filmmakers.
The casting director exclaimed: “That guy just won the Oscars of prison!” However, Theothus wasn’t
the only candidate who took the filmmakers’ breath away. There was another inmate who was just as
convincing, but he got into trouble and lost his film privileges. Consequently, it was Carter who was
cast as the younger inmate, Beecher. “One guy’s misfortune is another’s opportunity,” Carter said.
The background of O.G.’s director is itself interesting. Madeleine Sackler comes from one of the
wealthiest American families. The Sacklers own Perdue Pharma, a pharmaceutical company that
produces OxyContin – a highly addictive opioid painkiller. The critics say that she decided to work
with convicts because she felt guilty about the way her family had come into its wealth. After all, many
of the prisoners are opioid addicts. Sackler, however, thinks such theories are rubbish. “I have long
been interested in the U.S. prison system. I knew we have over two million prisoners and I’d always
wanted to make a film showing what happens when people don’t get a good education and family care.
I’m not saying these people have been punished too severely. That’s not my role. I’m just trying to
show they became convicts because they hadn’t been given the right opportunities.”
Sackler has a working style that puts her co-workers at ease. She speaks quietly and works in
an unhurried way. She does not impose her ideas on the actors. When she first showed up on the film
set, the prisoners weren’t sure who was in charge. Maybe, tired of being ordered around, they were
open to her kind of command. “She is like our quiet general. She has a confidence that replaces the
need to raise her voice or order people around,” the prisoners say.
Sackler is unlike any celebrities at Tribeca this year. Through her unique project, she wants to
draw attention to people who have been excluded from society. Coming from a wealthy and influential
family, Sackler wants neither money nor fame. She’s come to New York with an important message.
Time will show if that message will be heard.

1. This year’s Tribeca Film Festival is exceptional because …
a) its star actress is a convicted prisoner’s girlfriend
b) it is showing a movie which was shot in prison
c) one of the people present there is a prisoner

2. Carter was sent to a juvenile home because …
a) he had been involved in a violent family argument
b) he was dealing in narcotics together with his friend
c) he was known for his aggression towards other teens

3. During the burglary, Carter shot the man …
a) by accident
b) in cold blood
c) in self-defence

4. Carter was given permission to audition for the role in O.G. as …
a) an exception was made to the prison regulations
b) he had not committed any serious prison offences
c) his punishment for a prison offence had ended

5. Theothus Carter finally got the role in the film because …
a) his rival had broken prison rules
b) the leading actor had resigned
c) he was older than the main actor

6. Madeleine Sackler says she decided to shoot O.G. because …
a) she felt guilty about the way she had become rich
b) she thought U.S. prison sentences were too strict
c) she wanted to show why people end up in prison

7. On the film set, Sackler …
a) lacked confidence while being around prisoners
b) had a tendency to order her co-workers around
c) made her intentions clear without being bossy

źródło: CKEJO MON © 2019