Eindexamen engels vmbo gl/tl 2009, tijdvak 2

Police swoop on toy gun boy, 10 By Mark Blacklock 1 situation. It was well over the top and very scary.” James, from Birmingham, said: “I bought the gun from a market with my pocket money. What kind of 10- year-old would have a real gun?” The youngster, who had been visiting his uncle and aunt as a treat, was allowed to keep the 3ft-long toy gun and told that because he was under the age of criminal responsibility, he would not be charged. He is now back home with his mother Mandy in Birmingham. A Somerset Police spokesman said: “To the untrained eye, an imitation firearm can appear to be the real thing. It has to be treated as such because the safety of the public and police officers is at stake. Naturally, this is 6 . One way of dealing with this is to send firearms officers – and in this case there were reports of a male with a firearm. The message to parents is not stormed into the home of the boy’s uncle Trevor Taylor, who coincidentally collects replica firearms and swords, only to find James clutching his toy. 2 “We heard a furious banging at the 5 front door and when I opened it armed police were standing there,” said Mr Taylor. “For a moment I thought it was a joke - that someone was playing a trick on me. They said they had come about a gun. They burst in with their

Why girls love horses … Lucy Cavendish tells of her own very personal love affair 1 I FIND horses graceful, glorious creatures. There are so many things that are perfect about them: the way they move, their fluid bodies and shining coats, the way they smell, their velvet noses and ticklish ears. They are handsome creatures with lots of attitude and character. 2 There’s a difference in how women feel about horses and how our male counterparts do. Women have love affairs with horses. We kiss their warm soft noses. We brush, bathe and rub them. Lucy Cavendish as a child with Monty . 3 We give them garlic and molasses in their feed to keep them 7 healthy. We put boots on them so affair. He was fast and furious and they don’t hurt their legs. We talk stunning to look at and very, very about them as if they are husbands lively. I couldn’t stop riding him. or lovers or babies. We call them 8 ‘my boy’ and ‘my lad’ and ‘he’ as in evening riding. In the winter it was ‘he doesn’t like it when...’ and ‘ooh, horribly cold and dark. I had to put my boy’s in a bad mood today’. lights on me and the horse just to 4 I know women who spend go up the road. Then Roger died of every penny they earn on their a heart attack and nothing was the horses. They spend their weekends same again. and evenings cleaning tack, 9 mucking out stables and grooming about horses. They love them, of them and then, finally, riding; course they do, but to them they because it’s not just about the are living beings with a job to do. riding, it’s about being near them. Men hunt horses and show-jump 5 l have always been horse mad. them. They look after them, yes, My first ever love affair was with but they don’t worry about them Puffles, a tiny little Shetland pony. the way women do. 6 After Puffles there was Monty. 10 He was kind and safe and greedy. of us women that romanticises But then a friend of mine did his horses. Maybe it is, in part, back in and pretty much gave his because they still seem wild. They horse Roger to me. still have the fight or flee instinct. They are still strong, sometimes

frighteningly so. And people love to conquer them. 11 It’s not for nothing that we use the term ‘breaking in’ to describe the process of how a young horse is turned into a reliable riding horse. 11 horses will always be unpredictable. When you ride them you are aware of that. They are stronger than you. If they want to get you off their backs, they will. 12 But we still fall in love with them. You can run away on a horse, you see. You can go fast down hills and gallop along beaches and through forests and over plains. It is the ultimate escape. And yet you can also just walk along, at one with your horse, seeing things people don’t normally see. In a car, you go too fast, on foot you are too small. 13 Horses can be companions. We trust them. In the past, people have

Stark shaving mad School suspends black boy for having ‘NF’ haircut By Sadaf Meehan sadafmeehan@ gvmedia.co.uk THE irate parents of a black teenager have spoken out after their son was suspended – for ‘looking like a member of the National Front’. In the latest example of ‘political correctness gone mad’, 13-year-old teenager Kain Roomes was sent home from St Mary’s school in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, last Wednesday for having his hair ‘too short’. Furious mum Sophia Roomes was 16 the decision made by the school. She said: “I just couldn’t believe it. It’s just utterly ridiculous that a black child has been suspended for having short hair. I think it’s outrageous. I mean, there’s no way my son could look like a member of the National Front.” A school rule about hair length was introduced a few months ago after National Front members became active at the school and encouraged white children to shave their hair short to show membership of the racist group. The school responded by banning very short hair and launching a minimum ‘number two’ haircut for all children, regardless of race. 17 , Roomes says that far from protecting black children, the rule is penalising them. She says that her husband shaves their son’s head because he believes their son looks smarter and more presentable with his hair short. 19 for the headmistress, who

could face a backlash from white parents saying that their children should also be allowed short hair. Roomes said: “She was very polite and said she was willing to work with me, but the simple fact is that my son has been expelled.” A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: “The school has a Kies bij de open plekken in de tekst steeds het juiste antwoord uit de gegeven mogelijkheden.

Work experience Trying out a career helps you discover if it’s right for you This week: publishing 1 No matter how much excitement everybody felt about the release of the latest Harry Potter film, it won’t match the frenzy that surrounds the publication of a new Harry Potter book. JK Rowling is living proof of the health of the publishing industry. 2 “People tend to think that publishing is all about editing,” says Michael O’Brien, founder of the Irish O’Brien Press. “They don’t think of the other jobs, like marketing, sales, design or production.” The small size of Irish publishers, such as O’Brien, means there tends to be a lot of crossover between departments, and Potter pottiness: even the release of a new Harry people can move from one to another. Potter film couldn’t match the excitement that “The hardest part is getting your foot inside the door,” says Rachel Pierce 5 of Verba Editing House. “No matter what department has a space, jump at the opportunity and learn whatever you can. It all helps.” 3 O’Brien and Pierce agree that work 6 experience is very important if you can get it. “Make your letter and CV original, not just the regular one that you could send anywhere,” says O’Brien. “Give a solid reason for your interest, tell us what you’re reading or mention where you buy your books …. 7 Don’t say you want to be an editor; just be willing to work in any department and find out as much as possible.” 4 Pierce stresses the value of getting the basics right. “Ensure that everything is well presented,” she says. “You can get letters from people who even misspell ‘editor’, which doesn’t look good.”

and ambition are also useful qualities to have.” 8 The Society of Publishers in Ireland, which holds events every now and again, welcomes students. Pierce, who is its secretary, encourages people to get in touch. “We have a The society’s website is www.the-spi.com. Also have a look at www.obrien.ie and www.hughesbooks.com.

HOW DO I BECOME … … A CHOCOLATE TASTER? By David Rose 4 gluttons, she says: “If you taste more than four to six chocolates your taste buds become saturated. I will always only compare equiva- lent types of cocoa contents with each other. To be good at this job you need a lot of discipline.” 5 1 IT MAY be every little boy’s and girl’s dream job – eating chocolate and sweets all day with melt-in-the-mouth impunity. While Johnny Depp stars in Roald Dahl’s film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , most supermarkets and food stores have their very own Willy Wonkas, who appear to indulge every chocoholic’s fantasy. But don’t be fooled by the decadent job title; these confectionery buyers and tasters are nothing if not serious about chocolate. 2 Chloé Doutre-Roussel, confectionery buyer for Fortnum and Mason, the London luxury store, starts work at 5am each day to ensure that her taste buds are perfectly primed. 3 “After I wake up, “To do this I sit with my laptop, properly you surrounded by need to be but eat anything else beforehand and be far away from things with strong tastes or smells, such as tea or coffee.”