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Man: How did you decide what titles to select?

Woman: Well, in some cases there wasn't much choice. Having a sneaking suspicion that I was unlikely to find publications from nearly 200 nations on the shelves of my local bookshop, I decided to create a blog entitled A Year of Reading the World. There, I put out an appeal for suggestions of titles that I could read in English.

Man: Did you receive an encouraging response?

Woman: Astounding! People all over the world were getting in touch with ideas and offers of help. Some posted me books or electronic versions, others did hours of research on my behalf. Two writers, one from Turkmenistan and the other from Panama, sent me unpublished translations of their novels, giving me a rare opportunity to read works which otherwise would have been unavailable to me. Even with such an extraordinary team of bibliophiles behind me, however, sourcing books from some countries was an arduous task. When it came to the tiny island nation of Sao Tome and Principe, I would have been stuck if it hadn't been for a team of volunteers in Europe who translated a book of short stories by a local author for me.

Man: From what you're saying I reckon some of the time you allotted yourself for the challenge had to be devoted to obtaining the publications.

Woman: Right. Tracking down some stories took me as much time as reading them or even longer. It was a tall order to fit it all in around work and many a time I sat bleary-eyed into the small hours of the morning to make sure I stuck to my target of reading one book every 1.87 days.

Man: That must have been an incredibly wearing quest. So the final question must be "Was it worth the effort?"

Woman: Definitely. As I made my way through the diversity of literary landscapes, I discovered it offered a journey a physical traveller could only dream of. This unconventional way of visiting places, which I called bookpacking, took me inside the thoughts of individuals living far away and showed me the world through their eyes. One by one, the country names on the list that had begun as an intellectual exercise transformed into vital, vibrant places filled with laughter, love, anger, hope and fear.

Text 2

We all know that Sydney's best-known landmark is the Opera House. Its curving, nested design has earned it a spot as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since the vision of the Danish architect Jørn Utzon has a lot to do with the final look of the building, it would have seemed natural for him to be honoured at the Opera House's opening, but it wasn't the case. His story is one of unfulfilled promise crippled by inexperience – or, depending on how it is told, a city's failure to support a genius. Utzon was an unknown architect who unexpectedly won the competition to design the Sydney Opera House. His submission was one of 233 designs received from architects representing 28 countries. Rumor has it that Utzon got his chance thanks to the renowned Finnish-American architect, Eero Saarinen, who appeared late on the panel of judges, after most of the entries had already been assessed. Saarinen felt disappointed with the entrants shortlisted by the other members of the judging panel and pulled Utzon's entry out of the pile of rejected designs. Utzon's vision enchanted Saarinen and under his influence the rest of the panel acknowledged its inherent brilliance. To convince the city authorities and the public that the choice was right, Saarinen himself secretly produced further presentation drawings.

But while Utzon's concept was highly regarded, its construction was beset with difficulties from the start. Once the project was launched, it became clear that the young architect lacked the experience needed to see the construction of such an experimental building through. It turned out that he didn't have a plan for how to support the weight of his design, and when a solution was eventually found, it raised the costs significantly. Utzon also had some habits that made working with him difficult. He took long holidays at crucial moments, was reluctant to ask for help and took on other projects while the work on the Opera House was in progress. Consequently, the construction dragged on, the deadline was threatened, and the project faced hefty opposition. The Premier of New South Wales, the state where Sydney is located, questioned Utzon's every decision and eventually stopped paying him, which was a disgrace. Eventually, in 1966 Utzon left Sydney. The government owed him $100,000, and the project ended up 1457 percent over budget. That is why at the 1973 opening ceremony, Utzon's name wasn't even mentioned.

Utzon never returned to Australia. Things started to turn around at the end of his life. In 2003, after the Opera House earned the Pritzker Architecture Prize, its reception room was re-named the Utzon Room. Apparently, that's how long it takes for a project of iconic importance to overcome resentment towards its creator.

You are going to hear two texts. For questions 2.1.–2.6., choose the answer which best matches what you have heard by circling the appropriate letter (A, B, C or D). Questions 2.1.–2.3. are for Text 1, questions 2.4.–2.6. are for Text 2. You will hear the recording twice.

2.1. Ann began her quest for books by writers from foreign countries because she realized

A. she had unintentionally restricted her reading choices.

B. her attention had so far been confined to a single literary genre.

C. her library collection consisted exclusively of British and American writers.

D. she had to adjust to the cosmopolitan circle she socialized with.

2.2. How did Ann manage to achieve her goal?

A. She appealed to some writers for their unpublished manuscripts.

B. She got tremendous support from libraries around the world.

C. She paid a team of translators for their work on the English versions of some books.

D. She rigorously kept to the tight schedule she had drawn up.

2.3. Answering the last question, Ann uses the word bookpacking to mean

A. broadening your horizons through travel.

B. reading as many books as possible within a set time.

C. experiencing the world through literary works.

D. travelling to locations prominent in literary texts.

2.4. During the selection process, Utzon's design

A. was not assessed by the panel at all.

B. got no support from the panel because of its technical flaws.

C. wasn't appreciated at the initial stage of the assessment procedure.

D. got mixed up with the rejected submissions by accident.

2.5. While working on the construction of the Opera House, Utzon

A. questioned the authority of the Premier of New South Wales.

B. put the building schedule at risk by accepting other commissions.

C. had to economize to cover the cost of the engineering mistake he had made.

D. sued the authorities for a breach of the contract they had signed.

2.6. In the recording, the speaker

A. presents the circumstances which led to Utzon's absence at the opening of the Sydney Opera House.

B. speculates about undisclosed reasons for Utzon's failure.

C. criticizes the city authorities for employing an inexperienced architect.

D. undermines Utzon's contribution to Sydney's best-known landmark.