UNIT TEST 1 ● GROUP A
Dictation, Listening and Reading
Reading photos compared to you? Even those who aren’t
3 Read the text. Complete the sentences 1–5 with as attractive or slim as you? The reason is that
one or two words from the text. you know exactly how they looked all evening
because you could see them. There are no
SELF IMAGES surprises. However, you are comparing yourself
not to how you really looked but to an image of
As you prepare to go out, you check yourself in
yourself that was in your head. An image in which
the mirror. Everything looks good. The hair style is
your complexion is clearer, your eyes bigger and
right, your complexion is tanned and your smile
even your clothes are more stylish.
could make Liam Payne jealous. Later in the
So what can we do about it? On the one hand,
evening, when friends take photos, you are happy
for all the reasons above, photos of ourselves will
to pose for the camera. The next day, however,
rarely please us. There’s a reason why many
when the photos are uploaded to the Internet,
celebrities do everything they can to not be
you are shocked. You don’t recognise that person.
photographed in public. On the other hand, you
It can’t be you! The facial features are all wrong,
should remember that your friends feel exactly the
the skin too pale and the hair is horrific. So just
same. So, when they look at photos of you, they
why do we look different in photos to how we
will be as jealous of you as you are of them.
imagine ourselves to be?
Take comfort from that but maybe avoid looking
There isn’t just one reason. Firstly, people often
at photos taken of you which appear on other
look better early in the evening than later on. You
people’s social networking pages.
have probably just come out of the shower,
brushed your hair and put on your elegant clothes.
If there was something wrong, you would do 1 The article says that people ________________
something about it and then admire yourself again. _______________ when they realise what they
When the photos are taken, you may be tired or looked like the night before.
perhaps full after a good meal. Your hair may not 2 When we are home alone, it ________________
look quite so good as it did. Often, when people get _______________ if we look good or bad.
home and look in the mirror, they think: ‘I look 3 Our facial features look more flattering when we
terrible’. It’s just that, being home and alone, it look at them _____________________________.
doesn’t matter. 4 The way you look in photos is different to the
Another reason is to do with angles. In the mirror, way you look in __________________________.
we see our nose, mouth and chin from above. This 5 According to the article we should ___________
is more flattering than looking up from below. We _____________________ at photos of us which
also turn slightly and smile trying to get the best are uploaded online.
look possible. Unfortunately, our friends probably /10
aren’t as careful. Photos are taken when we aren’t
ready, often from the wrong position. You could
watch carefully to see when someone is going to
take a photo and pose for it but, although the
photos might look better, your evening won’t be
very relaxing.
Finally, there is the comparison with the people
around you. Why do they all look so good in
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