Reading (1 hour 1 5 minutes)

I always need to get away from other people at somepoint during the day. lt's not that I don't get on withothers, l've loads of friends. But I work in a reallybusy office in the centre of town and from themoment I leave home each morning it's non-stop.Crowds on the buses, busy streets, office bustle,phones, e-mail, do this, do that ... By the time theend of the day comes, l'm desperate for some peaceand quiet. Even if l'm going out later in the evening, Ialways make sure I have at least an hour to myselfwithout anyone being able to disturb me. I arrivehome, make myself a drink and lie on the sofa. I closemy eyes and relax by concentrating on each part ofmy body in turn, beginning with my neck. Even if l'maway from home, I try to find the time just to bealone in order to unwind and recharge my batteries.lf I don't make this space for myself, I feel really tenseand irritable.I share a student flat with three others, so there'snever a quiet moment. When I come back fromcollege in the evenings it's quite likely that there'llbe other people there as well and we'll all havesupper together. lt's great fun but towards the end ofthe evening I feel really tired and so I like to disappearby myself for a while. lts hopeless to try and find anyprivacy in the flat, so I go out for a walk. Whateverthe weather, I walk through the park which is quiteclose. Late at night it's usually empty. There are justshadows and the rustle of aninials and birds. lt's verypeaceful and it gives me the opportunity to reflect onthe day and to think about what I have to do thenext day. When I get back to the flat I like to gostraight to bed. Usually I fall asleep pretty quicklyeven if the others are still up and chatting or listeningto music. lf I don't get this time to myself, l'll be like abear with a sore head the next morning and not niceto know!l'm a night owl and I absolutely hate getting up inthe mornings. lf people try and talk to me beforemidday, I really snap at them. Being an actress meansthat I work late so it's important that I create spacefor myself at the beginning of each day. And becauseI use my voice so much, in fact totally depend on it, Ilike to rest my voice and just listen to music when Iwake up. I don't even want to hear other people'svoices. Some people find this very hard to understandand get quite cross when I tell them not to contactme before noon. I tell them it's nothing personal butthey still sound offended. l'm sure it must be thesame for singers and, who knows, maybe teachersand lecturers get fed up with hearing the sound oftheir own voice and simply long to be by themselvessomewhere, in complete silence.I work in a call centre, which means l'm constantly onthe phone. Apart from lunch and two short breaksduring the day l'm speaking to people all day long.And of course you never get to see who you'respeaking to! By the end of my shift l'm exhausted,not because l'm rushing around or I'm on my feet allday but simply because l've spent the day talking andlistening. The breaks are so short that there's no timeto do anything other than get a drink and somethingto eat. l'd love to be able to go for a walk but there'snowhere to escape to within easy walking distance.The building where I work is in the middle of anindustrial estate, you can't even see a single tree. Somy flat is full of house plants and when I get homeit's wonderful to be able to relax, surrounded by allthe greenery. I lie on the floo1 stretch out, look up atthe plants and try to imagine l'm in a tropicalrainforest miles away!TEST 2, PAPER 1