PART 4, text with multiple choice questions

In part 4 of the CPE reading test you read a long article and answer 7 multiple choice questions.

This text is about Imelda Marcos. You should complete this activity in 20 minutes.

You are going to read a magazine article. For questions 1-7, choose the answer which you think is best according to the article.

An Unlikely Muse

A new wave of music and arts projects has emerged, focusing on someone who may seem for some a dubious source of inspiration. Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the Philippines, is currently becoming the subject of musicals, song cycles and shows on a worldwide arena.

When the Marcos regime collapsed in 1986, and Imelda and her husband Ferdinand were exiled in Hawaii, they carried with them allegations of embezzlement, corruption and human rights abuses. Imelda had spent the last twenty years living off a seemingly endless supply of funds, living an exotic and glamorous lifestyle and rubbing shoulders with powerful figures worldwide. In 1972, when the superstar couple’s popularity was fading and they were at risk of losing their power, Ferdinand Marcos instated martial, leading to an era of chaos and plunder, and what is described by some as the second most corrupt regime of the twentieth century. Ferdinand and Imelda fled in 1986 to escape the People’s Power Revolution, Imelda leaving behind some 2000 pairs of shoes.

After her husband died in Hawaii due to ill health, Imelda stood trial in the United States on behalf of her husband. Following that, she returned to the Philippines to face seventy more counts of corruption and tax evasion. She has now returned to congress in the Philippines, her make-up and gowns as flawless as ever.

So what makes Imelda Marcos such an appealing muse? Undoubtedly, Imelda Marcos’s resolute character which has withstood exile, legal battles and the wrath of her enemies makes her an appealing heroine, but film-maker Fenton Bailey attributes her iconicity to her sense of glamour and style, and her role as a cultural trend-setter. And like so many women who let nothing come between them and their goals, she has gained a certain iconic status, particularly among homosexuals, not unlike that of Judy Garland and Lady Gaga.

And now the story of Imelda Marcos can be seen in the format of a musical, an artistic genre which is quite befitting for this flamboyant, entertaining figure of beauty and glamour. ‘Imelda – A new musical’ has played in Los Angeles and New York. The artistic director of the musical, Tim Dang, realises that the musical glosses over the darker aspects of the Marcos regime, but wanted to portray Imelda as a person with all her faults on display, leaving the audience to come to a verdict.  However, despite the glitz of the show, reviews were mixed, stating the ‘the serio-comic spoof... had a vacuum at its centre’.

The story of Imelda Marcos has also been immortalised as a song cycle, ‘Here Lies Love’ written by David Byrne and Norman Cook, in which Imelda comes across as both a hero and villain. Their reasoning was to try to understand the story of how people can attain positions of such power and greed.  They were also inspired by Imelda’s love of dancing and clubbing, and how her own style of music could be incorporated into their own.  Byrne adds that their story is not black and white – the couple were very popular at first, and Imelda headed a lot of public works in the Philippines and added much to the nation’s sense of culture and identity.

At the Cultural Centre of the Philippines, a tour named ‘La Vida Imelda’ led by Carlos Sedran describes the life of Imelda Marcos, the cold war and martial law, while also portraying the glamour of the Imelda lifestyle. He describes it as an eternal story, in which her extravagance can be seen as either distasteful or in some ways estimable.   

There is a danger that these new art forms airbrush out the atrocities which accompanied the ostentation and glamour. It was a time when democracy was suppressed, political enemies disappeared, and billions of dollars which could have helped the poverty-stricken country were spent on the Marcos’s extravagant lifestyle. However, the artists involved are keen to make clear that the regime also resulted in great leaps forward in the country’s culture, architecture and infrastructure. The Marcos legacy remains in the form of hospitals, Heart and Lung Centres, Folk Art theatres and homes for children and the elderly, notwithstanding that the Marcos couple set their war-ravaged, poverty-stricken land onto the world stage.

1. Why are Imelda’s shoes mentioned in the second paragraph?

 To illustrate how little she cared for her personal possessions
 To illustrate her love of fashion and beauty
 To indicate how quickly she had to flee the country
 To illustrate the extravagance of her lifestyle

2  What aspect of Imelda’s character is emphasised in paragraph 3?

 her flamboyance
 her kindness
 her resolution
 her beauty

3  Why is Imelda compared with Judy Garland and Lady Gaga?

 Due to her status as a gay icon
 Due to her ambition and drive
 Because she has created new fashions
 Because she has triumphed over legal battles

4  Why was the musical of Imelda’s life criticised?

 Because it did not portray Imelda’s faults
 Because the show was too shallow
 Because it was too glamorous and showy
 Because it was both serious and comedic

5  What was it about Imelda’s story that interested David Byrne and Norman Cooke?

 The ongoing themes of power, greed and music
 The fact that the story had both a clear hero and villain
 The reasoning why people such as Imelda become who they are
 The fact that her musical taste was similar to theirs

6  According to Carlos Sedran, how do people respond to Imelda’s expensive lifestyle?

 Most people are shocked by it.
 It evokes both positive and negative feelings
 People want to be like her
 People realise why she did it

7  Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the text as something Imelda Marcos did for the Philippines?

 She made health services available to the people.
 She gave the country a cultural identity.
 She reduced the levels of poverty for Filipino people.
 She drew the world’s attention to the country.

USE OF ENGLISH

• Part 1: text with 15 gaps

In part 1 of the CPE Use of English test you read a text with 15 words missing.

You should complete this activity in 20 minutes. This text is about hormones and love.

For questions 1-15 read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. use only one word in each space.

Men and women are often considered to be completely at odds with each other, in terms (1) their attitudes and behaviour. Not so when they are in love, new research has discovered. As far as their hormone levels are (2), when men and women are in love, they are more similar to each other (3) at any other time.

It has (4) been known that love can (5) havoc with hormone levels. For example the hormone cortisol, (6) is known for its calming effect on the body, dips dramatically when one person is attracted to (7) , putting the love-struck on a par with sufferers of obsessive compulsive disorder.

But a new study has found that the hormone testosterone, commonly associated with male aggression, also falls when he is in love. In women, it's quite the (8) . Testosterone levels, which (9) to be lower among females, rise towards (10) of the male.

Donatella Marazziti of the University of Pisa, Italy, (11) this down to nature attempting to eliminate the differences between the sexes. (12) doing so, they can concentrate fully (13) reproduction.
This suggestion seems to be supported by the fact that (14) couples in a long (15) relationship, nor participants in the study who were single at the time of the experiment, exhibited such changes.

• Part 2: word formation

Part 2 of the CPE Use of English test is a word formation exercise where you have to complete gaps with the correct form of a given word.

You should complete this activity in 20 minutes. This text is about fears for future global hunger

Read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line.

Fears of Future Global Hunger

A recent report has warned of global food unless

SHORT

the current system of farming and food distribution is changed. The

report highlights fears that currently rapid increases in yields come at

the expense of , and that unless action is taken,

SUSTAIN

hunger and will become growing problems.

NUTRIENT

The population is expected to rise to around 8.3 billion in the next

twenty years, and is set to continue, and it is

URBAN

expected that 65-70% of the world’s population will live in cities.

Increasing world will lead to the rise in demand for

PROSPEROUS

energy, food and fresh water.

The report also considers the billion people worldwide who

and are therefore obese to be another example of

EAT

the of the current system to provide health and well-

FAIL

being to the world’s population.

The authors believe that the of new technologies can

APPLY

play a role in future food shortages. They see cloning,

MINIMAL

nanotechnology and genetic as potential solutions.

MODIFY

However, although many of these technologies have been adopted

worldwide, there is still to their use in parts of Europe.

RESIST