READING COMPREHENSION

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DOC4LTANGSS0004 Page 1 THE TEXT

^ASolicitor gave birth a month prematurely because she was tormented by her unsympathetic boss, an employment tribunal heard yesterday.

Naomi Mainwaring, 26, claims she endured months of harassment at the hands of law firm partner Lesley Crinson. By the time she gave birth to her daughter Niamh last June she says she had become terrified of her manager.

Mrs Mainwaring said she became pregnant unexpectedly in November 2006, six months after starting work as an assistant solicitor at Short Richardson and Forth in Newcastle upon Tyne. She claimed she was pulled up on mistakes she made at work in her early months, but after telling Mrs Crinson, 53, she was pregnant she claims her boss’s criticism ceased to be work-related. “Comments were now directed at my pregnancy and my personal appearance rather than the standard of my work,” said Mrs Mainwaring. She is claiming sexual discrimination and says Mrs Crinson instantly took a dim view of her pregnancy.

Upon hearing the news Mrs Crinson is said to have sat with her head in her hands before finally telling her assistant: “You are going to get fat, get piles and be really uncomfortable.

Well, congratulations!”

During the next few weeks Mrs Mainwaring, whose husband Johnny, 34, was at the hearing, suffered from severe morning sickness. After being sick at work in December 2006, Mrs Mainwaring said her boss asked if she was okay, before adding: “You shall reap what you shall sow”. The relationship deteriorated further that month when Mrs Mainwaring, who by then was seven weeks pregnant, was involved in a car crash. She told Mrs Crinson she was going to hospital for a scan to make sure the baby had not been harmed but claims she was instantly made to feel as though she was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Despite this, she went to Newcastle General Hospital where she was told her back had been jarred in the collision and she had high blood pressure. As a result doctors advised her to stay at home and rest. Mrs Mainwaring, from Blanchland, Northumberland, said: “I felt isolated and victimised. By this point I was extremely scared of Lesley.” Two months later, in February 2007, she was signed off sick with work-related stress.

She told the tribunal that when she went into labour on June 26, doctors told her it was more than likely the premature birth had been caused by the stress she had endured during the previous months. She said: “my daughter had tubes up her nose for the first week and a half of her life. I feel the firm is responsible for that.”

Mrs Mainwaring is still employed by the firm but is on maternity leave. She said she had lost all professional confidence because of her treatment at the hands of Mrs Crinson and is unsure if she still has a future in the law.

Mrs Crinson, a mother of two, told the hearing she had never “in any way” harassed Mrs Mainwaring or treated her differently because of her pregnancy. She said she became concerned about the standard of Mrs Mainwaring’s work before she learned of her pregnancy and added: “ I felt she did not see her job as a priority.” She denied suggesting Mrs Mainwaring was wasting her time with her hospital appointments about the baby.

The hearing continues.

Daily Mail, January 4, 2008

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DOC4LTANGSS0004 Page 2

READING COMPREHENSION

1/ Complete the table with information from the text.

Age Occupation Marital status Residence Naomi

2/ For each of the following false statements find one sentence in the text showing it is false.

a/ Naomi became pregnant as soon as she started working.

--- b/ Although Mrs Crinson, the manager, was not satisfied with Naomi’s work, she never made any allusion to her pregnancy.

--- c/ Fortunately Naomi was safe and sound after the car accident.

---

d/ Doctors were of the opinion that the premature birth was due to a congenital malformation.

---

3/ What does the underlined expression mean? Express it differently.

She was instantly made to feel as though she was making a mountain out of a molehill.

---

4/Find words in the text meaning the following:

*become fat (paragraph 4): ---

*received a painful shock (paragraph 6): ---

*became worse (paragraph 5): ---

5/What do the underlined words/ expressions in the text refer to?

*she (paragraph 3): ………

*the news (paragraph 4): ...

6/ If you experienced any kind of harassment, would you react as Mrs Mainwaring did?

Why, Why not? (1mark)

---

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LANGUAGE

1/ Fill in the blanks with 8 words from the box.

resort / offers / from / mess / including / home / up / where / there / mass spectacular /

Perched on the edge of a wooden houseboat, we drift aimlessly on endless backwaters, soaking up the breathtaking beauty of Kerala.

We’re carefree in Kerala, a --- little state tucked away in the extreme south- west of the Indian peninsula. All the colours, sights, sounds and tastes of this unspoilt land make it the perfect getaway, a place --- stress and strain dare not tread.

We booked a Kerala Travel Centre tour and our first stop was Kovalam, --- to some of the best sandy beaches in India and overlooked by the luxurious Leela ---.

Sitting atop a rocky cliff, this five-star hotel --- some wonderful views of the Arabian Sea which can be enjoyed --- the Sky Bar or infinity pool. Time to tuck into some of the local cuisine. Kerala is heaven for vegetarians, with menus bursting full of vegetable delights. Meat-eaters don’t panic – there are plenty of tasty treats for you, too --- variety of fresh fish.

Kerala is untouched by --- tourism – the sandy beaches are clean and its lush greenery is bustling with wildlife. The beautiful landscape really took our breath away.

2/Put the bracketed words in the right tense or form.

The first week I lived in Shangai, I was walking down Nanjing Street, in front of Cartier, near one of the main high-end shopping plazas, a glittering mass of high-rise office buildings and luxury stores. I (leave) --- New York City a year ago, after a lifetime there.

I was annoyed at (spend) --- $20for a hamburger and depressed by designer boutiques. I decided to move myself and my 12-year-old daughter, Lulu – whom I (adopt) --- as a baby in China – from the old capital of the world to the new: to make a home in Shangai, a city of the future. I knew something about Shangai, as I (be) --- here on trips several times in the last few years. It is a microcosm of the Asian boom, stuffed with people giddy on hope and thrilled to be changing.

It’s so (fascinate) --- to watch. Thirty years from now, Shangai will (probable) --- be just like New York. But I don’t care about that now.

3/Complete the unfinished words. Each dash stands for one letter.

“I’m mad about computer games and I couldn’t live wit - - - - them. I’ve been playing for several ye - - - now. I had my first computer when I was six years old. I usually play for about two ho - - - a day. Some computer games are quite expensive and I can’t always af - - - - to buy the ones I want, so I often sw - - games with my friends. I also play in computer games competitions fr - - time to time.

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WRITING 1

1/Complete the following interview.

Beth Murphy works as a librarian for Book Aid International, which is an organisation that helps people in developing countries develop their reading and writing skills. We asked her about her job.

Is being a librarian just stamping books and telling people to be quiet?

B.M: --- ---

What is the role of Book Aid International?

B.M: --- ---

Why did you become a librarian?

B. M: --- ---?

B.M: No, definitely not! Librarians help to make it easy to find information stored in lots of different places. I deal with CDs, DVDs, websites, pod casts, newspapers and lots more.

---?

B.M: There are different types of qualifications for different jobs. I did an MA in Librarianship at university but there are lots of other courses.

WRITING 2

Your name is John/Jane Middleton and your address is 15, Brighton Road, London. Read the advertisement below then write a letter to Oakwood & Danbury to apply for the job.

JUNIOR OFFICE ASSISTANT REQUIRED

DO YOU WANT TO

MAKE SOME MONEY

DURING THE SUMMER?

Oakwood & Danbury are looking for a junior assistant Applicants must be:

* under 21 * fluent in English

* computer literate * tidy and responsible

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