Part 3

Questions 11-15
For each question choose the correct answer.

A Holiday Job That Changed Everything

When I was sixteen, my parents announced that if I wanted to go on the school ski trip the following winter, I would have to pay for half of it myself. I was horrified. None of my friends had to work for their holidays. But my mum was firm: ‘It’ll be good for you,’ she said.

A neighbour mentioned that the old cinema in town was looking for weekend staff. The Grand was a beautiful building from the 1930s, but it had seen better days. The red velvet seats were worn thin in places, and the carpet smelled faintly of popcorn that had been dropped decades ago. Still, I needed the money, so I applied.

My first shift was a disaster. I was assigned to the concession stand, selling tickets and sweets. Within twenty minutes, I had given the wrong change to a customer, knocked over a display of chocolate bars, and somehow managed to tear the roll of tickets so badly that my supervisor, a patient woman named Rita, had to spend ten minutes fixing it. I went home that evening and told my mum I was going to quit. She listened, nodded, and said, ‘Give it one more weekend. If you still hate it, you can leave.’

The following Saturday, something shifted. Rita asked me to help with a private screening for a local film club. Instead of standing behind the counter, I was inside the theatre itself, watching the faces of the audience as the lights went down. There was a man in the third row who smiled the moment the old Grand logo appeared on screen—the one with the lion roaring silently. Later, I learned he had come to this cinema every Saturday as a boy, fifty years ago. ‘It looks exactly the same,’ he told me afterwards. ‘That’s why I keep coming back.’

After that, I started noticing things I’d missed before. The way Rita remembered which customers liked their popcorn lightly salte\d. Or the sound the heavy front doors made when they closed—a solid, satisfying thud. And even the fact that people didn’t just come for the films; they came because this place mattered to them.

I stayed at The Grand for two years. I earned enough for the ski trip, but that wasn’t what I valued most by the end. When the cinema closed permanently three years later, I felt a genuine sense of loss. I’m thirty-two now, and I still think about that worn red carpet every time I walk into a modern multiplex with its plastic seats and digital screens. It taught me that a building isn’t just a building if people have cared about it for long enough.

11 How did the writer feel when her parents told her she had to pay for part of the ski trip?
A Grateful that they were paying the other half.
B Annoyed that she had been treated differently from her friends.
C Worried that she wouldn’t be able to find a job.
D Excited about the idea of earning her own money.

12 What does the writer say about The Grand cinema in the second paragraph?
A It was in excellent condition despite being very old.
B The neighbour had given an inaccurate description of it.
C It showed clear signs of age and use.
D It had recently been cleaned thoroughly.

13 How did the writer change after her conversation with the man in the third row?
A She became more attentive to the visitors.
B She started to enjoy her job more.
C She began to see the cinema and its customers differently.
D She wished she had asked the man more questions about his childhood.

14 After her second weekend, the writer began to understand that
A the building had an importance beyond just showing films.
B Rita’s job was much more difficult than it appeared.
C customers preferred the cinema to stay exactly as it was.
D private screenings were more profitable than regular showings.

15 Which of the following best describes what the writer learned from her experience at The Grand?
A That earning money for something you want makes it feel more valuable.
B That old buildings are rarely as impressive as they first appear.
C That places can hold meaning because of the memories people attach to them.
D That working in a team is more enjoyable than working alone.

For this task: Answers with explanations :: Vocabulary