“First, click on ‘Start Test ’, then read the passage below. Select or write your answers on the right side corresponding to the questions. If you find any issue, please contact us.”
Section 1 Read the text below and answer questions 1-8.
Choosing the best sleeping bag
When choosing a sleeping bag, check what seasons it’s for, as well as how heavy it is if you’re backpacking. Also think about the filling. Natural duck down is very warm, has a longer lifespan and is easier to pack up, while synthetic materials are easier to clean, and they dry quicker and are cheaper.
A Vango Fuse -12 This all-year-round sleeping bag combines natural duck down and a new synthetic fibre. The result is a bag that’s warm and weighs 1.5kg. There’s a water-resistant finish to protect it from moisture.
B Outwell Campion Lux Double Sleeping Bag This double sleeping bag – which is suitable for all seasons except winter – is soft and cosy, and there’s a handy pocket for essentials, located inside near the top. It also folds up remarkably small, given its size.
C Nordisk Oscar +10 At just 350g, this sleeping bag is remarkably light, and as it’s synthetic, it’s very easy to maintain. The pack size is just 13x20cm, which makes it ideal for backpacking. It will work perfectly for summer trekking.
D The Big Sleep 250GSM Single Cowl Sleeping If you want a no-frills, budget sleeping bag that will last more than one summer, opt for this. It’s soft, comfy and simple to wash. Give yourself a bit of time to fit it back in the bag, though. Use it for spring, summer and autumn.
E Jack Wolfskin Smoozip +3 We like the extra insulation in this sleeping bag around the areas that tend to feel the cold (head, chest and feet). And the hood is cosy enough to use as a pillow.
F Vango Starwalker Dragon This innovative, high-quality kids’ sleeping bag enables you to undo some zips and turn it into a fun, animal-themed coat. Once your youngster is ready for bed, simply zip the bottom back on and zip up the shoulders. Suitable for between 8 and 20 degrees Celsius.
G Outwell Conqueror This sleeping bag has an integrated down duvet and lots of space. What’s more, it packs up compactly and is easy to get back in the bag. It’s light but too big for a rucksack.
The Spread the Word Life Writing Prize
We are delighted to announce The Spread the Word Life Writing Prize in association with Goldsmiths Writers’ Centre.
Competition Rules
Entries should be original works of life writing of no more than 5,000 words. The word count will be checked and entries longer than 5,000 words will be disqualified. There is no minimum word count.
For the purposes of the Prize, Life Writing is defined as non-fiction and should be based on a significant portion from the author’s own experience. Traditional biographies, where the piece is only about the experience of someone else, are excluded.
Writers only submit one entry each. Multiple entries by the same author will result in only the first entry being considered for the Prize and any additional entries disqualified. Writers who have previously won or been highly commended in the Life Writing Prize are excluded from entering; otherwise, previous entrants may submit.
Entries must be the original, previously unpublished work of the entrant. Graphic novel-style entries, where drawings or photographs accompany text, are welcome. Entries can be self-contained pieces of life writing, or the first 5,000 words of a longer piece of work.
The Life Writing Prize is open to writers aged over 18 and resident in the UK who are emerging writers, which means they have not previously published in print a full-length work. We define a full-length work as, for example, a complete work of fiction or non-fiction over 30,000 words.
Entries that are simultaneously submitted elsewhere are welcome – but please let us know as soon as possible if a piece is to be published elsewhere or has won another prize so we can disqualify it from the Life Writing Prize.
The winner will receive £1,500, publication on Spread the Word’s website, two years’ membership of the Royal Society of Literature, and a development meeting with an editor and an agent. Two highly commended entries will receive £500 and two mentoring sessions, a development meeting with an editor and an agent, and be published on the Spread the Word website.
