Part 6

You are going to read an article about a man who takes photos of celebrities. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap (37-42). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. 

The airport photographer

I’m a photographer based at Heathrow Airport in London. Airlines often commission me to take photos of aircraft or their staff. But mostly I concentrate on getting shots of celebrities as they come through the arrivals hall. I sell some photos direct to the daily newspapers and celebrity magazines, and the rest go to a picture agency.

On a typical day I look out for the flights arriving from Los Angeles on the major airlines. 37 __. Most of them fly either with British Airways because it’s such an established company, or with Virgin Atlantic because the owner, Richard Branson, moves in those celebrity circles.

You’ve got to cover all the incoming flights though – Victoria Beckham took to flying with Air New Zealand at one time. I know the ground and security staff here very well. 38 __. That can really make all the difference to being in the right place at the right time. I’ve been working here for many years now, so I’ve seen thousands of celebrities throughout the decades. In my experience, the old stars are the best. Joan Collins is my favourite — she sends me a Christmas card every year. Mick Jagger also knows me and always says hello. People like Paul McCartney and Rod Stewart are lots of fun, too. 39 __. I guess that’s because they can see the value of it.

Today’s big stars are generally okay and give you a polite smile. I won’t mention names, but there are some who wave me away rudely, whilst others even have their managers popping up from nowhere, saying ‘no pictures’ to the waiting photographers. 40 __. You’ve probably seen photographers leaping around in this manner on TV footage of celebrities arriving at airports and wondered why they do it – well often that’s why.

41 __. One time, Naomi Campbell refused to come out from behind a pillar. She called up for a buggy and hopped on the back, so there I was chasing it, trying to get a shot of her. But the next time I saw her she’d just got engaged and came up to me to show me the ring.

But if today’s stars don’t make my job as easy as it was, today’s technology more than makes up for it. When I started out it was much less sophisticated. I remember when the British queen’s granddaughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, were just babies. I heard that their mother, the Duchess of York, was coming through Heathrow with them. She was carrying both babies in her arms. 42 __. I realised I had a good chance of getting one of them onto the front page of the newspaper, which is always the photographer’s aim.

So I called my editor to warn him, took the shots, then rolled up the film, labelled it, put it in an envelope and organised for a motorbike dispatch rider to pick it up, take it back to the newspaper offices and have it developed. It had taken three hours. Today, using digital cameras and a laptop, the office gets images in three minutes.

A You get the impression that they enjoy the attention.
В I was lucky enough to get some lovely shots of them.
C Often it’s one of them who tips me off that a big star has just come through passport control.
D That’s where you generally find the celebrities.
E They could be appearing in the arrivals hall at any time, night or day, of course.
F When that happens, they have to do what we call ‘duck and dive’ to get a shot.
G With some stars, however, you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get.

Part 7

You are going to read an article about cycling. For questions 43-52, choose from the cyclists (A-D). The cyclists may be chosen more than once.

When talking about their bike, which cyclist
43. accepts the need to wear uncomfortable safety equipment? __
44. advises people to make sure a new bike is comfortable to ride? __
45. believes that false information was given by the seller? __
46. disagrees with other people’s opinion of one of the bike’s features? __
47. hopes not to get caught in bad weather on the bike? __
48. feels that cycling is less frustrating than driving? __
49. finds some cycle journeys easier than others? __
50. feels that the bike matches the owner’s character? __
51. was once the victim of bike crime? __
52. was a professional cyclist for a short time? __

I love my bike

Four young Dubliners talk about the joys of cycling in the city

A Erin
This old second-hand bike gets me from A to В all right because you don’t need flashy sets of gears or anything like that in a city this size and it makes it less of a target for thieves. But having said that, mine’s a very bright colour – it cheers me up, especially when I have to cycle home in the pouring rain. I’ve always thought that the bike was a good reflection of the real me actually, and I usually wear jeans when I’m cycling. I might need to rethink that though because I’ve just started my own company, and my outlook on life has changed a little. There may be times when I need to turn up looking a bit more elegant! I’d say to anyone thinking of getting a bike, make sure the saddle’s right before you part with your money. If you’re going to use it a lot, you don’t want to get sore.

В Luke
I bought my bike from an Internet auction site and had to have it shipped from Germany in pieces. I then paid to have it assembled here in Dublin – but it was worth it. I use it every day and tend to wear everyday clothes and try and dodge the showers. I cycle all over the city because it’s much quicker than walking and you don’t get snarled up in the traffic, which can be a pain in a motor vehicle. At least on a bike you can keep moving. The only tip I’d give to novice cyclists round here is keep a lookout for drivers turning left, it’s easy for them to miss you because you can see what they’re doing but they can’t necessarily see you. I worked briefly as a cycle courier — delivering letters and stuff. It was fun, but I wouldn’t recommend making a career out of it!

C Claire
My parents picked this bike up for me in New York. It’s a red and black cruiser with a burger-shaped bell — some of my friends think that’s a bit uncool, but I don’t really go along with that idea. I’ve got two helmets, a summer and a winter version but I still get too hot on really sunny days. Still, you can’t really do without one, can you? I cycle down to college in no time at all, but the uphill trek home takes me around thirty-five minutes. I only take the bus if it’s wet. It’s quicker, but on the bike I can make my own mind up about when I travel. I cycle in high heels, which you might think would be tricky, but is actually easier than walking any distance in them. But I wouldn’t really recommend them to other cyclists.

D Kieran
My bike’s an early 1980s racer and I bought it off an old man who sells junk out of his garage. He reckoned it had once belonged to a professional cycling champion, but I think he was making it up. I was looking for old cameras, but when I saw it I couldn’t resist it. It did get stolen on one occasion, but then later that week I saw someone riding it up my street. I grabbed him and gave him his taxi fare home so that I could take it back. My advice to cyclists would be to wear fluorescent armbands, especially at night or in poor weather conditions. They’re less uncomfortable than the waistcoats or jackets in the same material. I’ve just invested in special raingear actually, but I don’t find it very comfortable, to be honest, because as soon as the sun comes out, you feel overdressed.
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