English past paper 2010

Dear Zach,

I just had my amazing day at a gorilla sanctuary and I thought it would be a good idea to tell you what happened, so that you can visit here next time. It was a whole new experience seeing gorillas right in front of my eyes. They were so adorable and interesting.

The first chimp I saw was named Max and he was wearing a nappy. Have you ever imagined a gorilla wearing a nappy? For me, it was unexpected, so I was so amused by the first sight. What's more is that they are intelligent, so they can communicate with people. Max was really curious about everything and we could see the trust between him and Mark, who he stays with all the time. Chimps are just like babies. They play with children's toys, cling onto people and love being hugged. They are full of emotions. They get jealous when their caretaker takes care of other chimps and they love getting the attention. Oh, did you know that chimps don't go bald when chimpanzees do?

I met two people there and they were Mark, who I mentioned before and Madame Yvette. They were both working in the gorilla sanctuary, and they were both passionate and open minded. We could see that they care a lot for their chimps, looking at how they treat chimps just like their own babies. However, they were different at times. Mark was rather calm and quiet when Madame Yvette was bright and active. They were both great at care taking the chimps.

While I was having a great time in the sanctuary, I heard a depressing news. They told me that hunters kill the mother chimp and take away the baby to sell it as a pet to villagers. It is rare for the baby chimp to be rescued and sent to the sanctuary and even if they do, they arrive in bad physical wounds and their stomachs are full of earth they consumed due to the dearth of food. Because these chimps are sensitive, the babies who experience the mothers' death, are traumatised and can even lead to them dying of grief, refusing to eat. There were twenty-seven rescued chimps but only four are still alive. The sanctuary needs our help to provide better care and cure for the chimps including food supply and medical supply. I have entered my name for being the constant volunteer and I am planning to make donations overtime. Don't you want to join me? It is going to be an enormous help for the baby like chimps and caring care takers.

Just consider what I suggested and I will be waiting for your answer! See you soon!

Love,
Lary

First language English past paper

Interview with Signor

Interviewer: Some people say you are an eccentric man whose behaviour is odd at times. Are they right?

Signor: I guess some people can take it that way, but I don't think my behaviour is odd. It's just what a great conductor should do. We need to have fixed rules and I'm just following my daily routines. I get so frustrated whenever something stops me from continuing what I want to do. I mean, we all have our own daily routines right? We can go to high class restaurants to eat curry and enjoy riding our limousine, don't we? For me, I get bored of the perfection and wealth and I need my ears to get used to the noises before concerts, so I take a taxi despite the inconvenience. I don't see how that is eccentric. If that is, that means all the people around the world are weird. I can't stand my plans or my daily routines being ruined. That is just being organised, isn't it? I can't find anything wrong in this.

Interviewer: Oh, I see. As you always stick to your plans, how did today's concert go? I heard that there was an unexpected happening that took place. Can you explain about that?

Signor: It wasn't a big problem for me, it was just a mistake caused by a new time keeper. It wasn't my fault, the time keeper told me the time late, so I didn't have any time to get ready and be prepared just like I normally do before I conduct a stage. Just like any other great conductors, I need to prepare for myself to be prefect as I always do.

Interviewer: Oh, I'm sorry if it disturbed you. Anyway, why do you like conducting? 

Signor: I have always loved music since I was a little kid and I always liked leading others and helping them get in the right way. As a young boy, I wanted to be a general but as I grew up, I was in love with the music and decided that I want to live my life with melody and rhythms, and I found this interesting profession called conductor which is somehow like general of a musical concert. I think I have a good leadership and I manage my feelings quite decently. I also love entertaining people. The performers also love me, and I love being a small part of a magnificent team.

Interviewer: So, it can count as you achieving your past dreams! I have the last question for you. Since you have worked as a conductor for a long time, do you think that the time has come for you to retire from conducting?

Signor: No, not at all! The more experience you have, the better you conduct. If I can, I wouldn't mind dying working as a conductor. Why would you want to stop it when so many people come to look at your concerts and they praise you, give you all the attention and more? I love getting the attention I get because I am the most important person in the music hall. If I retire, I think I will die of depression from not getting what I want and what I want to do. I know I have a lot of money and I am successful, but now, it's not my goal to earn money or experience, but interact with people and keep on being famous. I love the fame given to me. That is the most precious thing I could ask for in my whole life. 

Interviewer: Okay, Mr. Signor, thank you for your passionate interview and your amazing answers!

Signor: No problem. It has been a great honour to be interviewed.

Interviewer: It has been a pleasure to interview you and thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it very much. 



Corrections are in blue.