Candle in the Wind (Grado Superior Exam)

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Candle in the Wind


One of the most famous celebrities ever to come out of Hollywood was Marilyn Monroe. Born Norma Jean Baker in 1926, Monroe made around 30 films in 13 years. Although she was often given the role of a dumb blonde, Monroe was in fact a talented actress with a natural gift for comedy. Once, when asked by a journalist; "Didn't you have anything on?", her replay was; "I had the radio on": Despite her image, she had an appetite for books, reading Dostoesvsky, for example, in her spare time,

Every detail of her life was scrutinized by journalists trying to dig up gossip about her. In real life, she was a shy, troubled person, but at the requests of the studios she worked for, she made many public appearances.

The pressures of Hollywood and a chain of broken relationships, which included three failed marriages, affected her deeply.

Monroe's premature and mysterious death in 1961 turned her from a start into a legend and cult figure. There have been conflicting theories about how and why she died (ranking from the official report of suicide to murder).

Monroe's name was linked with presidents, film stars, baseball heroes and playwrights. Many books have been written about her life and death. The most recent one is a book by her sister Bernice who argues that most of what have been written about her is untrue; including the claim that she committed suicide.

Whatever the truth is, for many people Marilyn remains a symbol of Hollywood's exploitation of beauty and youth.


1. Answer these questions about the text:

  • Did Monroe's screen image reflect the real person?
  • Did Marilyn have a sense of humour?
  • What was the cause of her death?
  • Does Monroe's beauty continue selling all kinds of products?

2. Match the departments on the left with the correct definition:
  1. Planning                                         a. is responsible for manufacturing goods
  2. Reasearch and Development         b. deals with recruiting new staff
  3. Production                                      c. tries to develop new products
  4. Personnel                                       d. persuades people to buy the company's products
  5. Distribution                                    e. sets out a strategy for the company's future
  6. Sales                                               f. transports goods to different places

3.  When you meet business colleagues socially, you often have to talk about othe things: family, holidays, hobbies, etc. Here are 6 ways to start a conversation on such topics. Match them up with their responses
  1. Are you having a Holiday this year?              a. Yes, we are off to Florida
  2. Do you have a family?                                   b. Yes, sleeping. See you tomorrow
  3. Does your wife/husband work?                      c. No, I am not actually. What about you?
  4. Are you doing anything tonight?                   d. Yes, 2 boys and a girl
  5. Are you married?                                            e. Golf! What about you?
  6. What do you do when you aren't working?    f. Yes, (s)he's an architect

4. Read the following story and complete it with these verbs in Past Simple:
WANT #  BUY #  RING  #  GO  #  BE  #  GIVE  #  THANK  #  LOOK

I was in Italy on business in late October and I was invited to dinner by an Italian business colleague. I ________________ to take her a present so I ________________ to the market to buy some flowers. As I said, it was late October and so the chrysanthemus ________________ especially beautiful. I ________________ some yellow ones. Then I went to my colleague's house and _______________ and the bell. When she opened the door, I _______________ her the flowers, and I smiled. But I could tell that something was wrong because her face _______________ so strange. She _________________ me politely but I could see she wasn't pleased.


5. Writing: The Best Inventions in Technology of the Last Century.

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