Exam Practice
Read the text and questions below.
For each question, mark the correct letter A, B, C or D.
Portmeirion
Last week I visited the village of Portmeirion in north Wales. During my childhood, I'd enjoyed holidays in the area, which is one of the most beautiful parts of Britain. However, I'd never been to the village and I had always wanted to. I visited the village in the autumn, which was a good choice as it was less crowded than in the summer. I'd read about its history and knew that the buildings were from many different styles and periods but hadn't realised how colourful they would be. Portmeirion didn't exist in the nineteenth century. The first building didn't go up until 1926 and the last in 1976. It was built by Sir Clough Williams. From the age of 5, he dreamed of building his own village. He wanted to show that it was possible to build a village in a lovely area and not spoil it. In 1919 he sailed around the British coast for several months looking for a suitable spot. He visited 22 possible sites before he found the place of his dreams at last, just 8 km away from his family home. Sir Clough had to build cheaply and quickly and I discovered that some of the buildings even have painted windows which were cheaper than putting in real windows! Some were built so that they look grander than they are. The windows in the bell tower, for example, are smaller as you go up the tower, so it seems taller from the ground than it really is. On my second day there I stood on the balcony of my hotel at dawn. As I looked over the Austrian style houses and Italian piazzas with the wonderful view of the Welsh coastline in the background, I realised what Clough Williams was trying to do.
1 What is the writer trying to do?
a. give information about where to stay in Portmeirion
b. compare Portmeirion to other similar villages
c. describe a visit to Portmeirion
d. suggest what improvements could be made to Portmeirion
2 What surprised the writer about the village?
a. the mixture of buildings
b. the beauty of the area
c. the number of visitors
d. the different colours used
3 What was the aim of Clough Williams in 1919?
a. to build a village without damaging the natural surroundings
b. to make an existing village more beautiful
c. to build a village as close to his home as possible
d. to visit as many villages as possible before building his own
4 What did the writer find out about some of the buildings?
a. They cost more to build than expected.
b. They aren't as big as they look.
c. There was a mistake in their design.
d. Some of the windows need replacing.
5 Which of these postcards did the writer send from Portmeirion?
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