// document.ondragstart = noselect;
document.onselectstart = noselect;
document.oncontextmenu = noselect;
function noselect() {return false;}
// ]]>
READING
Time: 40 minutes
Maximum score: 25
Read the article. Decide in which paragraph the ideas below are
expressed. Choose from the paragraphs A-D.
A I lost my heart in ...
Dublin
I was born and bred in Dublin but, for me, it still has it all as a
city. The only place I can compare it to is Rio de Janeiro because it is by the
mountains and the sea.
Only after my travelling have I realised what an amazing city it is – it’s
walkable, and the Dart can get you down the coast in 15 minutes or into the
mountains in 20. Visitors should go to a pub called Johnnie Fox’s, in
Glencullen, where they have bacon on the open fire. It’s quite touristy but
Dubliners go there as well.
I’m starting to get very protective of Dublin. It really annoys me that
we sell out an awful lot and that shops are being bought up by English chains.
People come to Ireland because they want to see Irish things.
One of the things I really like about Dublin at the moment is that when
you go into a bar or cafe, there is usually one English person working there.
The Irish have been living and working in London for years, so it’s great that
English people have decided that they can live in Dublin. It’s a real sign that
things have changed in the last few years.
B St. Petersburg
I love St. Petersburg more than anyone I know; if it is possible to love
a city more than a person, then that’s how strongly I love St. Petersburg.
I was brought up in England, half-Russian, half-English, and I didn’t
actually go to Russia until I was 19. I was aware of family history and family
stories but they did not mean anything to me until I stepped onto Russian soil
in 1985. I felt I’d come home. It was a beautiful spring day - northern sun and
sparkling snow, lovely fresh air and that wonderful feeling you get when you
can see your breath.
We had all heard about the disgusting food and the horrible hotels in
the Soviet Union, so I was not sure I would like the place. But I remember
standing in the snow, looking at a church with domes, and I had this rush of
being at home.
I visited my grandmother’s palace, where she was brought up. I had heard
about it and how they had left it, but I had only seen it in a black-and-white
photograph. I was absolutely breathless - it was so much bigger than it
appeared in the photograph. It was crumbling and full of this eerie spirit of
the past. It had become a naval headquarters, and it was years before I could
get inside.
Very few people are disappointed by St. Petersburg. It is dusty, falling
apart and in desperate need of funding, but there is always the chance for you
to feel that you have personally discovered a bit of the city yourself.
For me, the essence of St. Petersburg is walking through Rossi’s
triumphal arch into Palace Square and being hit by the Alexander column and the
Hermitage and, beyond, the huge wide expanse of the Neva.
C Calcutta
I was first attracted to Calcutta by the crumbling grandeur. I expected
the place to be difficult, with terrible bureaucracy and endless frustration,
but we settled in quickly. We found somewhere to live within ten days, were
accepted right away into the neighbourhood and stayed for five months.
Calcutta is a huge city, but not particularly threatening. Things that
would cripple a place like New York are dealt with as part of daily life:
everyone keeps going even when the city floods. People seem to be looking out
for each other, which you don’t get in western cities.
There are squares that remind me of Italian piazzas, fascinating temples
and sweet shops like Viennese cafes where people meet and talk. The most
British areas are the least appealing.
Some tourists are disappointed if they don’t go to visit the slums, but
it is easy to get a distorted picture. If you go to Calcutta with an open mind,
it is a remarkable place, not a disaster zone.
D Barcelona
Barcelona under Franco was rather sad and grey, but even then I loved it
because it is Mediterranean and Latin but also sober and industrious with a
north-European seriousness. In contrast, I find Madrid almost too jolly.
After Franco’s death in 1975, the Catalans were given back their
autonomy, and Barcelona was cleaned up and became brighter. There was a real
sense that Catalans were recovering their identity and you could feel that
passion in the city. There was a sense of a long wait before Franco’s death,
and then everything changed very quickly; it was a very exciting time.
The Olympics transformed Barcelona, especially the harbour. Before then,
you could not really enjoy the sea, but now there is a sandy beach five minutes
away from the centre. The port area used to be rather shoddy and run-down. Now
it is beautiful and safe with people flying kites and enjoying the sea.
The old, gothic part has never changed. I love walking through the
courtyards and the palaces and finding little book shops. Although it used to
be very quiet and now attracts lots of tourists, a big city needs development
and the visitors have been a good thing. Everything was there before; it just
needed doing up. I don’t feel the restoration and development have been
destructive.
Which writer(s) ...?