Questions 1 - 5

Reading Passage 1 below has 5 paragraphs (A-E). Which paragraph focuses on the information below? Write the appropriate letters (A-E) in Boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

1. The way parameters in the mind help people to be creative.

2. The need to learn rules in order to break them.

3. How habits restrict us and limit creativity.

4. How to train the mind to be creative.

5. How the mind is trapped by the desire for order.

A. It is a myth that creative people are born with their talents: gifts from God or nature. Creative genius is, in fact, latent within many of us, without our realising. But how far do we need to travel to find the path to creativity? For many people, long way. In our everyday lives, we have to perform many acts out of habit to survive, like opening the door, shaving, getting dressed, walking to work, and so on. If this were not the case, we would, in all probability, become mentally unhinged. So strongly ingrained are our habits, though this varies from person to person, that, sometimes, when a conscious effort is made to be creative, automatic response takes over. We may try, for example, to walk to work following a different route, but end up on our usual path. By then it is too late to go back and change our minds. Another day, perhaps. The same applies to all other areas of our lives. When we are solving problems, for example, we may seek different answers, but, often as not, find ourselves walking along the same well-trodden paths.

B. So, for many people, their actions and behaviours are set in immovable blocks, their minds clogged with the cholesterol of habitual actions, preventing them from operating freely, and thereby stifling creation. Unfortunately, mankind’s very struggle for survival has become a tyranny – the obsessive desire to give order to the world is a case in point. Witness people’s attitude to time, social customs and the panoply of rules and regulations by which the human mind is now circumscribed.

C. The groundwork for keeping creative ability in check begins at school. School, later university and then work teach us to regulate our lives, imposing a continuous process of restriction, which is increasing exponentially with the advancement of technology. Is it surprising then that creative ability appears to be so rare? It is trapped in the prison that we have erected. Yet, even here in this hostile environment, the foundations for creativity are being laid; because setting off on the creative path is also partly about using rules and regulations. Such limitations are needed so that once they are learnt, they can be broken.

D. The truly creative mind is often seen as totally free and unfettered. But a better image is of a mind, which can be free when it wants, and one that recognises that rules and regulations are parameters, or barriers, to be raised and dropped again at will. An example of how the human kind can be trained to be creative might help here. People’s mind are just like tense muscles, that need to be freed up and the potential unlocked. One strategy is to erect artifitial barriers or hurdles in solving a problem. In this way, they are obliged to explore unfamiliar territory, which may led to some startling discoveries. Unfortunately, the difficulty in this exercise, and with creation itself, is convincing people that creation is possible, shrouded as it is so much myth and legend. There is also an element of fear involved, however subliminal, as deviating from the safety of one’s own thought patterns is very much akin to madness. But, open Pandora’s box, and a whole new world unfolds before your eyes.

E. Lifting barriers into place also plays a major part in helping the mind to control ideas rather than letting them collide at random. Parameterrs act as containers for ideas, and thus help the mind to fix on them. When the mind is thinking laterally, and two ideas from different areas of the brain come or are brought together, they form a new idea, just like atoms floating around and then forming a molecule. Once the idea has been formed, it needs to be contained or it will fly away, so fleeting is its passage. The mind needs to hold it in place for a time so that it can recognise it or call on it again. And then the parameters can act as channels along which the ideas can flow, developing and expanding. When the mind has brought the idea to fruition by thinking it through to its final conclusion, the parameters can be brought down and the idea allowed to float off and come in contact with other ideas.

Questions 6 – 10

6. According to the writer, creative people
A. are usually born with their talents
B. are born with their talents
C. are not born with their talents
D. are geniuses

7. According to the writer, creativity is
A. a gift from God or nature
B. an automatic response
C. difficult for many people to achieve
D. a well-trodden path

8. According to the writer :
A. the human race’s fight to live is becoming a tyranny
B. the human brain is blocked with cholesterol
C. the human race is now cicumbribed by talents
D. the human race’s fight to survive stifles creative ability

9. Advancing technology
A. holds creativity in check
B. improves creativity
C. enhances creativity
D. is a TYRANNY

10.According to the author, creativity…
A. is common
B. is increasingly common
C. is becoming rarer and rarer
D. is a rare commodity

Questions 11 – 15

Do the statements below agree with the information in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 11 – 15, write:

Yes If the statement agrees with the information in the passage

No If the statement contradicts the information in the passage

Not given If there is no information about the statement in the passage

11.Rules and regulations are examples of parameters.

12.The truly creative mind is associated with the need for free speech and a totally free society.

13.One problem with creativity is that people think it is impossible.

14.The act of creation is linked to madness.

15.Parameters help the mind by holding the ideas and helping them to develop.

1. The way parameters in the mind help people to be creative.	E	the fact that parameters help our minds to be creative.
2. The need to learn rules in order to break them.	C	keeping creative ability in check …… These limitations are needed so that once they are learnt, they can be broken
3. How habits restrict us and limit creativity.	A	the paragraph to show that habits limit our creativity and the habits we need to survive play a role in this limitation.
4. How to train the mind to be creative.	D	the paragraph is how creativity works.
5. How the mind is trapped by the desire for order.	B	how parameters help the mind to be creative
6. According to the writer, creative people	C. are not born with their talents	it is a myth = are not.
7. According to the writer, creativity is C. difficult for many people to achieve
8. According to the writer : D. the human race’s fight to survive stifles creative ability		Unfortunately, mankind’s very struggle for survival has become a tyranny
9. Advancing technology	A. holds creativity in check	a continuous process of restriction, which is increasing exponentially with the advancement of techonology
10.According to the author, creativity…	D. is a rare commodity	Is it surprising then that creative ability appears to be so rare?
11.Rules and regulations are examples of parameters.	Yes	D: .. and one that recognises that rules and regulations are parameters
12.The truly creative mind is associated with the need for free speech and a totally free society.	Not Given
13.One problem with creativity is that people think it is impossible.	Yes	The difficulty in this exercise and with creation itself is convincing people that creation is possible
14.The act of creation is linked to madness.	Yes	D:leaving the safety of one’s own thought patterns is very much akin to madness; akin to = like
15

TEST 1 – PASS 2- LOCKED DOORS, OPEN ACCESS.

1. The word, ‘security’, has both positive and negative connotations. [1]Most of us would say that we crave security for all its positve virtues, both physical and psychological (tâm lý) – its evocation of the safefy of home, of undying love, or of freedom from need. More negatively, the word nowadays conjures up [2]images of that huge industry which has developed to protect individuals and property from invasion by ‘outsider’, ostensibly malicious and intent on theft or wilful damage.

2. Increasingly, because they are situated in urban areas of escalating crime, those buildings which used to allow free-access to employees and other users (buildings such as offices, schools, colleges or hospitals) now do not. Entry areas which in another age were called ‘Reception’ are now manned by security staff. Receptionists, whose task it was to receive visitors and to make them welcome before passing them on to the person they had come to see, have been replaced by those who task it is to bar entry to the unauthorized, the unwanted or the plain unappealing.

3. Inside, these buildings are divided into ‘secure zones’ which often have all the trappings of combination locks and burglar alarms. These devices bar entry to the uninitiated, hinder circulation, and create parameters of time and space for user access. Within the spaces created by these zones, individual rooms are themselves under lock and key, which is a particular problem when it means that working space becomes compartmError! Reference source not found.Error! Reference source not found.entalized.

4. To combat the consequent difficulty of access to people at a physical level, we have now developed technological access. Computers sit on every desk and are linked to one another, and in many cases to an external universe of other computers, so that messages can be passed to and fro. Here too security plays a part, since we must not be allowed access to messages destined for others. And so the password was invented. Now correspondence between individuals goes from desk to desk and can not be accessed by collegues. Library catalogues can be searched from one’s desk. Papers can be delivered to, and received from, other people at the press of a button.

5. And yet it seems that, just as work is isolating individuals more and more, organizations are recognizing the advantages of ‘team-work’; perhaps in order to encourage employees to talk to one a[3]nother again. Yet, how can groups work in teams if the possibilities for communication are reduced? How can they work together if e-mail provides a convenient electronic shield behind which the blurring of public and private can be exploited by the less scrupulous? If voice-mail walls up messages behind a password? If I can’t leave a message on my colleagues’ desk because his office is locked?

6. Team-work conceals the fact that another kind of security, ‘job security’, is almost always not on offer. Just as organizations now recognize three kinds of physical resources: those they buy, those they lease long-term and those they rent short-term – so it is with their human resources. Some employees have permanent contracts, some have short-term contracts, and some are regarded simply as casual labour.

7. Telecomunication systems offer us the direct line, which means that individuals can be contacted without the caller having to talk to anyone else. Voice-mail and the anser-phone mean that individuals can communicate without ever actually talking to one another. If we are unfortunate enough to contact an organization with a sophisticated touch-tone dialling system, we can buy things and pay for them without ever speaking to a human being.

8. To combat this closing in on ourselves we have the Internet, which opens out communication channels more widely than anyone could possibly want or need. An individual’s electronic presence on the internet is known as the ‘Home Page’ – suggesting the safety and security of an electronic hearth. An elaborate system of 3-dimensional medium of ‘web sites’. The nomenclature itself creates the illusion of a geographical entity, that the person sitting before the computer is travelling, when it fact the ‘site’ is coming to him. ‘Addresses’ of one kind or another move to the individual, rather than the individual moving between them, now that location is no longer geographical.

9. An example of this is the mobile phone. I am now not available either at home or at work, but wherever I take my mobile phone. Yet, even now, we cannot escape the security of wanting to ‘locate’ the person at the other end. It is no coincidence that almost everyone we see answering or initiating a mobile phone-call in public begins by saying where he or she is.

Questions 16 – 19

Choose the appropriate letters A – D and write them in Boxes 16 – 19 on your answer sheet.

16. According to the author, one thing we long for is..
A. the saftey of the home
B. security
C. open access
D. positive virutes.

17. Access to many buildings..
A. is unauthorised
B. is becoming more difficult
C. is a cause of crime in many urban areas.
D. used to be called ‘Reception’.

18. Buildings used to permit access to any users,…
A. but now they do not
B. and still do now
C. especially offices and schols
D. especially in urban areas.

19. Secure zones…
A. don’t allow access to the user
B. compartmentalise the user
C. are often like traps
D. are not accessible to everybody.

Questions 20 – 27

Complete the text below, which is a summary of paragraphs 4 – 6. Choose your answers from the Word List below and write them in Boxes 20 – 27 on your answer sheet.

There are more words and phrases than spaces, so you will not be able to use them all. You may used any word or phrase more than once.
Example:
The problem of ___________ access to buildings..
Answer: physical

The problem of physical access to buildings has now been (20)________ by technology. Messages are sent between (21)___________, with passwords not allowing (22)_________ to read someone else’s messages. But, while individuals are becoming increasingly (23)_______ socially by the way they do their job, at the same time more value is being put on (24)_________. However, e-mail and voice-mail have led to a (25)___________ opportunities for person – to – person communication. And the fact that job-security is generally not available nowadays is hidden by the very concept of (26)__________. Human resources are now regarded in (27)__________ physical ones.

Word list
Just the same way as, computer, cut-off, Reducing of, computers, overcame, Decrease in, combat, isolating, Team-work, developed, physical, Similar, other people, No different from, solved

Questions 28 – 30

Complete the sentences below. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in Boxes 28 – 30 on your answer sheet.

28. The writer does not like_______________

29. An individual’s Home Page indicates their ___________ on the Internet.

30. Devices like mobile phones mean that location is ______________

READING PASSAGE 3: NATIONAL CUISINE AND TOURISM.

1. To an extent, agriculture dictates that every country should have a set of specific foods which are native to that country. They may even be unique. However, even allowing for the power of agriculture science, advances in food distribution and changes in food economics to alter the ethnocentric properties of food, it is still possible for a country ‘to be famous for’ a particular food even if it is widely available elsewhere.

The degree to which cuisine is embedded in national culture

2. Within the sociology of food literature two themes suggest that food is linked to social culture. The first relates food and eating to social relationships, (Finkelstein, Vissor, Wood), and the second establishes food as a reflection of the distribution of power within social structures, (Mennell). However, establishing a role for food in personal relationships and social structures is not a sufficient argument to place food at the centre of national culture. To do that it is necessary to prove a degree of embeddedness. It would be appropriate at this point to consider the nature of culture.

3. The distinction made by Pierce between a behavioural contingency and a cultural contingency is crucial to our understanding of culture. Whilst a piece of behaviour may take place very often, involve a network of people and be reproducible by other networks who do not know each other, the meaning of the behaviour does not go beyond the activity itself. A cultural practice, however, contains and represents ‘meta-contingencies’ that is, behavioural practices that have a social meaning greater than the activity itself and which, by their nature reinforce the culture which houses them. Celebrating birthdays is a cultural practice not because everybody does it but because it has a religious meaning. Contrast this with the practice in Britain of celebrating ‘Guy Fawkes Night’. It is essentially an excuse for a good time but if fireworks were banned, the occasion would gradually die away altogether or end up as cult to California. A smaller scale example might be more useful. In the British context, compare drinking in pubs with eating ‘fish and chips’. Both are common practices, yet the former reflects something of the social fabric of the country, particularly family, gender, class and age relationships whilst the latter is just a national habit. In other words, a constant, well populated pattern of behaviour is not necessarily cultural. However, it is also clear that a cultural practice needs behavioural reinforcement. Social culture is not immortal.

4. Finkelstein argues that ‘dining out’ is simply ‘action which supports a surface life’. For him it is the word ‘out’ that disconnects food from culture. This view of culture and food places the ‘home’ as the cultural centre. Continental European eating habits may contradict this notion by their general acceptance of eating out as part of family life. Following the principle that culture needs behavioural reinforcement, if everyone ‘eats’ out’ on a regular basis, irrespective of social and economic differentiation, then this might constitue behavioural support for cuisine being part of social culture. That aside, the significance of a behavioural practice being embedded in culture is that it naturally maintains an approved and accepted way of life and therefore has a tendency to resist change.

5. The thrust of the argument is that countries differ in the degree to which their food and eating habits have a social and cultural meaning beyond the behaviour itself. This argument, however, could be interpreted to imply that the country with the greatest proportion of meals taken outside the home would be the one in which the national cuisine is more embedded in social culture. This is a difficult position to maintain because it would bring America, with its fast-food culture to the fore. The fast-food culture of America raises the issue of whether there are qualitative criteria for the concept of cuisine. The key issue is not the extent of the common behaviour but whether or not it has a function in maintaining social cohesion and is appreciated and valued through social norms. French cuisine and ‘going down the pub’ are strange bedfellows but bedfellows nevertheless.

How homogenous is national cuisine?

6. Like languages, cuisine is not a static entity and whilst its fundamental character is unlikely to change in the short run it may evolve in different directions. Just as in a language there are dialects so in a cuisine there are variations. The two principal sources of diversity are the physical geography of the country and its social diversity.

7. The geographical dimensions work through agriculture to particularise and to limit locally produced ingredients. Ethnic diversity in the population works through the role of cuisine in social identity to create ethnically distinct cuisines which may not converge into a national cuisine. This raises the question of how far a national cuisine is related to national borders. To an ethnic group their cuisine is national. The greater the division of a society into classes, castes and status groups with their attendant ethnocentric properties, of which cuisine is a part, then the greater will be the diversity of the cuisines.

8. However, there is a case for convergence. Both these principal sources of diversity are, to an extent, influenced by the strength of their boundaries and the willingness of society to erode them. It is a question of isolation and intergration. Efficient transport and the application of chemistry can alter agricultural boundaries to make a wider range of foods available to a cuisine. Similarly, political and social intergration can erode ethnic boundaries. However, all these arguments mean nothing if the cuisine is not embedded in social culture. Riley argues that when a cuisine is not embedded in social culture it is suceptible to novelty and invasion by other cuisines.

Questions 31 – 36

Choose one phrase (A-K) from the List of phrases to complete each Key point below. Write the appropriate letters (A-K) in Boxes 31 – 36 on your answer sheet.

The information in the completed sentences should be an accurate summary of the points made by the writer.

There are more phrases (A-K) than sentences, so you will not need to use them all. You may use each phrase once only.

Key points

31. The native foods of a country,…

32. The ethnocentric properties of food…

33. Celebrating birthdays…

34. Cultural practice…

35. Drinking in pubs in Britain…

36. The link between language and cuisine…

List of phrases:

A. is a behavioural practice, not a cultural practice

B. are unique

C. varies

D. is that both are diverse

E. is a reflection of the social fabric

F. is a cultural practice

G. can be changed by economic and distribution factors

H. is fundamental

I. are not as common as behaviour

J. needs to be reinforced by behaviour

K. are, to a certain extent, dictated by agriculture

Question 37 – 40

Use the information in the text to match the Authors (A-D) with the Findings (37-40) below. Write the appropriate letters (A-D) in Boxes 37 – 40 on your answer sheet.

Authors

A. Finkelstein

B. Pierce

C. Mennell

D. Riley

Findings

37. There is a difference between behaviour and cultural practice.

38. The connection between social culture and food must be strong if national cuisine is to survive intact.

39. Distribution of power in society is reflected in food.

40. The link between culture and eating outside the home is not strong..

TEST 2 – READING PASSAGE 1 TEA TIMES

A. The chances are that you have already drunk a cup or glass of tea today. Perhaps, you are slipping one as you read this. Tea, now an everyday beverage in many parts of the world, has over the centuries been an important part of rituals of hospitality both in the home and in wider society.

B. Tea originated in China, and in Eastern Asia tea making and drinking ceremonies have been popular for centuries. Tea was first shipped to North western Europe by English and Dutch maritime traders in the sixteenth century. At about the same time, a land route from the Far East, via Moscow, to Europe was opened up. Tea also figured in America’s bid for independence from British rule – the Boston Tea Party.

C. As, over the last four hundred years, tea-leaves became available throughout much of Asia and Europe, the ways in which tea was drunk changed. The Chinese considered the quality of the leaves and the ways in which they were cured all important. People in others cultures added new ingredients besides tea-leaves and hot water. They drank tea with milk, sugar, spices like cinnamon and cardamom, and herbs such as mint or sage. The variations are endless. For example, in Western Sudan on the edge of the Sahara Desert, sesame oil is added to milky tea on cold mornings. In England tea, unlike coffee, acquired a reputation as a therapeutic drink that promoted health. Indeed, in European and Arab countries as well as in Persia and Russia, tea was praised for its restorative and health giving properties. One Dutch physician, Cornelius Blankaart, advised that to maintain health a minimum of eight to ten cups a day should be drunk, and that up to 50 to 100 daily cups could be consumed with safety.

D. While European coffee houses were frequented by men discussing politics and closing business deals, respectable middle-class women stayed at home and held tea parties. When the price of tea fell in the nineteenth century poor people took up the drink with enthusiasm. Different grades and blends of tea were sold to suit every pocket.

E. Throughout the world today, few religious groups object to tea drinking. In Islamic cultures, where drinking of alcohol is forbidden, tea and coffee consumption is an important part of social life. However, Seventh-Day Adventists, recognising the beverage as a drug containing the stimulant caffeine, frown upon the drinking of tea.

F. Nomadic Bedouin are well known for traditions of hospitality in the desert. According to Middle Eastern tradition, guests are served both tea and coffee from pots kept ready on the fires of guest ten tents where men of the family and male visitors gather. Cups of “bitter” cardamom coffee and glasses of sugared tea should be constantly refilled by the host.

G. For over a thousands years, Arab traders have been bringing Islamic culture, including tea drinking, to northern and western Africa. Techniques of tea preparation and the ceremonial involved have been adapted. In West African countries, such as Senegal and The Gambia, it is fashionable for young men to gather in small groups to brew Chinese “gunpowder” tea. The tea is boiled with large amounts of sugar for along time.

H. Tea Drinking in India remains an important part of daily life. There, tea made entirely with milk is popular. “Chain” is made by boiling milk and adding tea, sugar and some spices. This form of tea making has crossed the Indian Ocean and is also popular in east Africa, where tea is considered best when it is either very milky or made with water only. Curiously, this “ milk or water” formula has been carried over to the preparation of instant coffee, which is served in cafes as either black, or sprinkled on a cup of hot milk.

I. In Britain, coffee drinking, particularly in the informal atmosphere of coffee shops, is currently in vogue. Yet, the convention of afternoon tea lingers. At conferences, it remains common practice to serve coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon. Contemporary China, too, remains true to its long tradition. Delegates at conferences and seminars are served tea in cups with lids to keep the infusion hot. The cups are topped up throughout the proceedings. There are as yet no signs of coffee at such occasions.

Questions 1-8

Reading passage 1 has 9 paragraphs (A-I). Choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph from the List of headings below. Write the appropriate numbers (I-xii) in Boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.

One of the headings has been done for you as an example.

NB. There are more headings then paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.

1. Paragraph A

2. Paragraph B

3. Paragraph C

4. Paragraph D Example: Paragraph F Answer: xiii

5. Paragraph E

6. Paragraph G

7. Paragraph H

8. Paragraph I

List of headings

i. Diverse drinking methods

ii. Limited objections to drinking tea

iii. Today’s continuing tradition – in Britain and China

iv. Tea – a beverage of hospitality

v. An important addition – tea with milk

vi. Tea and alcohol

vii. The everyday beverage in all parts of the world

viii. Tea on the move

ix. African tea

x. The fall in the cost of tea

xi. The value of tea

xii. Tea-drinking in Africa

xiii. Hospitality among the Bedouin

Questions 9-14

Complete the sentences below. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage to complete each blank space.

9. For centuries, both at home and in society, tea has had an important role in ______________.

10. Falling tea prices in the nineteenth century meant that people could choose the ______________ of tea they could afford.

11. Because it ______________ Seventh-Day Adventists do not approve of the drinking of tea.

12. In the desert, one group that is well known for its traditions of hospitality is the ______________.

13. In India, ______________, as well as tea, are added to boiling milk to make ‘chai”.

14. In Britain, while coffee is in fashion, afternoon tea is still a ______________.

READING PASSAGE 2 Tyes and Greens

There are a number of settlements in this part of East Anglia with names containing the word "tye". The word is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and the Oxford English Dictionary quotes the earliest usage of the term as dating from 832. Essentially a "tye" was a green, or a small area of open common land, usually sited away from the main village or settlement, perhaps at the junction of two or more routes. Local people and passing travellers had the right to pasture their horses, pigs and other farm animals on the tye.

In the Pebmarsh area there seem to have been five or six of these tyes, all except one, at the margins of the parish. These marginal clearings are all away from the richer farming land to close to the river, and, in the case of Cooks Green, Hayles Tye, and Dorking Tye, close to the edge of still existing fragments of ancient woodland. It seems likely then that, here, as elsewhere in East Anglia, medieval freemen were allowed to clear a small part of the forest and create a smallholding. Such unproductive forest land would, in any case, have been unattractive to the wealthy baronial or monastic landowners. Most of the land around Pebmarsh village belonged to Earls Colne Priory, a wealthy monastery about 10 kilometers to the south, and it may be that by the 13^th and 14^th centuries the tyes were maintained by tenant farmers paying rent to the Priory.

Hayles Tye seems to have got its name from a certain John Hayle who is documented in the 1380s, although there are records pointing to occupation of the site at a much earlier date. The name was still in use in 1500, and crops up again throughout the 16^th and 17^th centuries, usually in relation to the payment of taxes or tithes. At some point during the 18^thcentury the name is changed to File's Green, though no trace of an owner called File has been found. Also in the 18th century the original dwellings on the site disappeared. Much of this region was economically depressed during this period and the land and its dwellings may simply have been abandoned. Several farms were abandoned in the neighbouring village of Alphamstone, and the population dwindled so much that there was no money to support the fabric of the village church, which became very dilapidated. However, another possibility is that the buildings at File's Green burnt down, fires being not infrequent at this time.

By 1817 the land was in the ownership of Charles Townsend of Ferriers Farm, and in 1821 he built two brick cottages on the site, each cottage occupied by two families of agricultural labourers. The structure of these cottages was very simple, just a two-storey rectangle divided in the centre by a large common chimney piece. Each dwelling had its own fireplace, but the two families seem to have shared a brick bread-oven which jutted out from the rear of the cottage. The outer wall of the bread-oven is still visible on the remaining cottage. The fireplaces themselves and the chimney structure appear to be older than the 1821 cottages and may have survived from the earlier dwellings. All traces of the common land had long disappeared, and the two cottages stood on a small plot of less than an acre where the labourers would have been able to grow a few vegetables and keep a few chickens or a pig. The bulk of their time was spent working at Ferriers farm.

Both cottages are clearly marked on maps of 1874, but by the end of the century one of them had gone. Again, the last years of the 19^th century were a period of agricultural depression, and a number of smaller farms in the area were abandoned. Traces of one, Mosse's Farm, still partly encircled by a very overgrown moat, may be seen less than a kilometre from File's Green. It seems likely that, as the need for agricultural labour declined, one of the cottages fell into disuse, decayed and was eventually pulled down. Occasional fragments of rubble and brick still surface in the garden of the remaining cottage.

In 1933, this cottage was sold to the manager of the newly-opened gravel works to the north-west of Pebmarsh village. He converted these two dwellings into one. This, then, is the only remaining habitation on the site, and is called File's Green Cottage.

QUESTIONS 15 - 18

Choose the appropriate letters A - D and write them in Boxes 15 - 18 on your answer sheet.

15. A tye was ......

A. a green

B. a large open area

C. common land with trees

D. found at the junction of two or more routes

16. The Pebmarsh area .....

A. probably had seven tyes

B. probably had six tyes

C. appears to have had five or six tyes

D. was not in East Anglia

17. The tyes in the Pebmarsh area were .....

A. near the river

B. used by medieval freemen

C. mostly at the margins of the parish

D. owned by Earls Colne Priory

18. According to the writer, wealthy landowners .....

A. did not find the sight of forest land attractive

B. found the sight of forest land attractive

C. were attracted by the sight of forest land

D. considered forest land unproductive

QUESTIONS 19 - 29

Complete the text below, which is a summary of paragraphs 3 - 6 in Reading Passage 2. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage to fill each blank space.

Write your answers in Boxes 19 - 29 on your answer sheet

1380s - John Hayle, who is ____19____ , apparently gave his name to Hayles Tye.

1500s - the name of Hayles Tye was still ___20____ , ____21____ again in the following two centuries in relation to taxes.

18^th century - Hayles Tye was renamed ___22___; the original dwellings may either have disappeared, or were ____23____

1817 - the land was ____24____ by Charles Townsend.

1821 - Charles Townsend built ____25____ cottages on the site, _____26_____ inhabited by two families, but by the end of the nineteenth century only one cottage ___27____.

1933 - The cottage, now called File's Green Cottage, was brought by the local ____28____ manager who converted into ____29____.

READING PASSAGE 3 Haydn's late quartets

By the time he came to write the String Quartets published as Opus 76 and Opus 77, Haydn was undoubtedly the most famous living composer in the whole of Europe. He had recently returned from the highly successful second visit to England, for which he had composed his last six symphonies, culminating in the brilliant and festive Drum Roll Symphony (No. 103) and London Symphony (No. 104). This is public music, full of high spirits, expansive gestures and orchestral surprises. Haydn knew how to please his audience. And in 1796, following his return to Vienna, he began work on his largest and most famous choral work, the oratorio, "The Creation". In the succeeding years, till 1802, he was to write a series of other large scale religious choral works, including several masses. The oratorios and masses were also public works, employing large forces for dramatic effect, but warm and full of apparently spontaneous religious feeling. Yet at the same time he composed these 8 quartets, in terms of technical mastery and sheer musical invention the equal of the symphonies and choral works, but in their mood and emotional impact far removed, by turns introspective and detached, or full of passionate intensity.

Once again, as in the early 1770s when he appears to have been going through some kind of spiritual crisis, Haydn returned to the String Quartets as a means to accomplish a twofold aim: firstly to innovate musically in a genre free from public performance requirements or religious convention; secondly to express personal emotions or philosophy in a musical form that is intimate yet capable of great subtlety and complexity of meaning. The result is a series of quartets of astonishing structural, melodic, rhythmic and harmonic variety, inhabiting a shifting emotional world, where tension underlies surface brilliance and calm gives way to unease.

The six quartets of Opus 76 differ widely in character. The opening movement of No.2 is tense and dramatic, while that of No.4 begins with the soaring long-breathed melody that has earned it the nickname of "The Sunrise". The minuets too have moved a long way from the stately court dance of the mid-eighteenth century. The so-called "Witches Minuet" of No.2 is a strident canon, that of No.6 is a fast one-in-a-bar movement anticipating the scherzos of Beethoven, while at the heart of No.5 is a contrasting trio section which, far from being the customary relaxed variant of the surrounding minuet, flings itself into frenetic action and is gone. The finales are full of the energy and grace we associate with Haydn, but with far less conscious humour and more detachment than in earlier quartets.

But it is in the slow movements that Haydn is most innovative and most unsettling. In No.1 the cello and the first violin embark on a series of brusque dialogues. No.4 is a subdued meditation based on the hushed opening chords. The slow movements of No.5 and No.6 are much looser in structure, the cello and viola setting off on solitary episodes of melodic and harmonic uncertainty. But there the similarity ends, for while No.5 is enigmatic, and predominantly dark in tone, the overlapping textures of its sister are full of light-filled intensity.

The Opus 76 quartets were published in 1799, when Haydn was well over 60 years old. Almost immediately he was commissioned to write another set by Prince Lobkowitz, a wealthy patron, who was later to become an important figure in Beethoven's life. Two quartets only were completed and published as Opus 77 Nos.1 & 2 in 1802. But these are not the works of an old man whose powers are fading, or who simply consolidates ground already covturally complex and emotionally unsettling as anything he ever wrote, alternating between a laconic opening theme and a tense and threatening counter theme which comes to dominate the whole movement. Both quartets have fast scherzo-like "minuets". The slow movement of No.1 is in traditional variation form, but stretches the form to the limit in order to accommodate widely contrasting textures and moods. The finale of No.2 is swept along by a seemingly inexhaustible stream of energy and inventiveness.

In fact, Haydn began a third quartet in this set, but never finished it, and the two completed movements were published in 1806 as Opus 103, his last published work. He was over 70, and clearly lacked the strength to continue composition. The two existing movements are a slow movement followed by a minuet. The slow movement has a quiet warmth, but it is the minuet that is remarkable. It is in true dance time, unlike the fast quasi-scherzos of the earlier quartets. But what a dance! In a sombre D minor Haydn unfolds an angular, ruthless little dance of death. The central trio section holds out a moment of consolation, and then the dance returns, sweeping on relentlessly to the final sudden uprush of sound. And then, after more than 40 years of composition the master falls silent.

Questions 30 - 32

Choose the appropriate letters A - D and write them in Boxes 30 - 32 on your answer sheet.

30. Which one of the following statements is true?

A. Haydn wrote the London Symphony in England.

B. We do not know where Haydn wrote the London Symphony.

C. Haydn wrote the London Symphony in Vienna.

D. Haydn wrote the Drum Roll Symphony in England.

31. Like symphonies 103 and 104, the oratorios and masses were ...

A. written in the eighteenth century.

B. for the public

C. as emotional as the quartets

D. full of religious feeling

32. The string quartets in Opus 76 and Opus 77 were ...

A. the cause of a spiritual crisis

B. intimate yet capable

C. calm unease

D. diverse

Questions 33 - 37

Complete the text below, which is a summary of paragraphs 3 and 4 in Reading Passage 3. Choose your answers from the Word List below and write them in Boxes 33 - 37 on your answer sheet.

There are more words and phrases than spaces, so you will not be able to use them all. You may use each word or phrase only once.

Example: The six quartets of Opus 76 are very ___________.

Answer: different.

For example, the opening of "The Sunrise" is not nearly as ____33____ as that of No.2. ___34___ those of the mid-eighteenth century, the minuets are more frenetic and less relaxed. It is in the slow movements, however, that Haydn tried something very different. In contrast to No.4, No.1 is much ___35___ brusque, the former being much ___36___. ___37___, Nos. 5 and 6 are alike in some respects.

Word List

wide less different

more long-breathed unlike

similarly subdued tense

like conversely quieter

Questions 38 - 40

Do the statements below agree with the information in Reading Passage 3?

In Boxes 38 - 40 , write:

Yes if the statement agrees with the information in the passage

No if the statement contradicts the information in the passage

Not Given if there is no information about the statement in the passage

Example: Haydn was well-known when he wrote Opus 76.

Answer: Yes

38. Before the Opus 76 quartets were published, Haydn had been commissioned to write more.

39. The writer says that Opus 103 was Haydn's last published work.

40. The writer admires Haydn for the diversity of the music he composed.

TEST 3 READING PASSAGE 1 The politics of pessimism

Newspaper headlines and TV or radio news bulletins would have us believe erroneously that a new age has com upon us, the Age of Cassandra. People are being assailed not just with contemporary doom, or past gloom, but with prophecies of disasters about to befall. The dawn of the new millennium has now passed; the earth is still intact, and the fin de siècleJeremiahs have now gone off to configure a new date for the apocalypse.

It can, I believe, be said with some certainty that the doom-mongers will never run out of business. Human nature has an inclination for pessimism and anxiety, with each age having its demagogues, foretelling doom or dragging it in their wake. But what makes the modern age so different is that the catastrophes are more "in your face". Their assault on our senses is relentless. Whether it be sub-conscious or not, this is a situation not lost on politicians. They play upon people's propensity for unease, turning it into a very effective political tool.

Deluding the general public

All too often, when politicians want to change the status quo, they take advantage of people's fears of the unknown and their uncertainties about the future. For example, details about a new policy may be leaked to the press. Of course, the worst case scenario is presented in all its depressing detail. When the general public reacts in horror, the government appears to cave in. And then accepting some of the suggestions from their critics, ministers water down their proposals. This allows the government to get what it wants, while at the same time fooling the public into believing that they have got one over on the government. Or even that they have some say in the making of policy.

There are several principles at play here. And both are rather simple: unsettle people and then play on their fears; and second, people must be given an opportunity to make a contribution, however insignificant, in a given situation; otherwise, they become dissatisfied, not fearful or anxious.

A similar ruse, at a local level, will further illustrate how easily people's base fears are exploited. A common practice is to give people a number of options, say in a housing development, ranging from no change to radical transformation of an area. The aim is to persuade people to agree significant modifications, which may involve disruption to their lives, and possibly extra expenditure. The individuals, fearful of the worst possible outcome, plump for the middle course. And this, incidentally, is invariably the option favoured by the authorities. Everything is achieved under the guise of market research. But it is obviously a blatant exercise in the manipulation of people's fears.

Fear and survival

Fear and anxieties about the future affect us all. People are wracked with self-doubt and los self-esteem. In the struggle to exist and advance in life, a seemingly endless string of obstacles is encountered, so many, in fact, that any accomplishment seems surprising. Even when people do succeed, they are still nagged by uncertainty.

Not surprisingly, feelings like doubt, fear, anxiety and pessimism are usually associated with failure. Yet, if properly harnessed, they are the driving force behind success, the very engines of genius.

If things turn out well for a long time, there is a further anxiety: that of constantly waiting for something to go wrong. People then find themselves propitiating the gods: not walking on lines on the pavements, performing rituals before public performances, wearing particular clothes and colours so that they can blame the ritual not themselves when things go wrong.

But surely the real terror comes when success continues uninterrupted for such a long period of time that we forget what failure is like!

We crave for and are fed a daily diet of anxiety. Horror films and disaster movies have an increasing appeal. Nostradamus pops his head up now and again. And other would-be prophets make a brief appearance, predicting the demise of human kind. Perhaps, this is all just a vestige of the hardships of early man - our attempt to recreate the struggles of a past age, as life becomes more and more comfortable.

Mankind cannot live by contentment alone. And so, a world awash with anxieties and pessimism has been created. Being optimistic is a struggle. But survival dictates that mankind remain ever sanguine.

Questions 1 - 5

Choose one phrase (A-K) from the List of phrases to complete each Key point below. Write the appropriate letters (A-K) in Boxes 1 - 5 on your answer sheet.

The information in the completed sentences should be an accurate summary of the points made by the writer.

NB. There are more phrases (A-K) than sentences, so you will not need to use them all. You may use each phrase once only.

Key points

1. Newspaper headlines and TV or radio news bulletins .....

2. Doom-mongers are popular, because people ........

3. Today, catastrophes .........

4. To politicians, people's inclination for fear .........

5. The government ..............

List of phrases

A are not as threatening as in the past

B tell the truth

C blame them

D try to make us believe mistakenly that we are in a new era

E calm people down

F are uncertain about the future

G are less comfortable

H are natural pessimists and worriers

I are more immediate

J get what they want by deceiving the public

K is something they can make use of

Questions 6 - 9

Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in Boxes 6 - 9 on your answer sheet.

6. The housing development example shows that people ...

A. are not that easily deceived

B. like market research

C. lead their fears

D. are easy to delude

7. Which one of the following statements is true, according to the passage?

A. Market research uses people's fears for their own good

B. People are scared by market research techniques

C. Market research techniques are used as a means of taking advantage of people's fears

D. Market research makes people happy

8. The engines of genius are ....

A. properly harnessed

B. the driving force behind success

C. driven by feelings like fear

D. usually associated with failure

9. Continual success ....

A. makes people arrogant

B. worries people

C. does not have any negative effects on people

D. increase people's self-esteem

Questions 10 - 14

Do the statements below agree with the information in Reading Passage 1?

In Boxes 10 - 14, write:

Yes if the statement agrees with the information in the passage

No if the statement contradicts the information in the passage

Not Given if there is no information about the statement in the passage

Example: Politicians pretend things are worse than they are.

Answer: Yes.

10. The complex relationship between failure and success needs to be addressed carefully.

11. People perform certain rituals to try to avoid failure.

12. Anxiety in daily life is what we want.

13. The writer believes that Nostradamus and certain other prophets are right about their predictions for the end of the human race.

14. Mankind needs to be pessimistic to survive.

READING PASSAGE 2 Caveat scriptor!

Let the would-be writer beware! Anyone foolhardy enough to embark on a career as a writer - whether it be an academic treatise, a novel, or even an article - should first read this!

People think that writing as a profession is glamorous; that it is just about sitting down and churning out words on a page, or more likely these days on a computer-screen. If only it were! So what exactly does writing a book entail? Being a writer is about managing a galaxy of contradictory feelings: elation, despair, hope, frustration, satisfaction and depression - and not all separately! Of course, it also involves carrying out detailed research: first to establish whether there is a market for the planned publication, and second into the content of the book. Sometimes, however, instinct takes the place of market research and the contents are dictated not by plans and exhaustive research, but by experience and knowledge.

Once the publication has been embarked upon, there is a long period of turmoil as the text takes shape. A first draft is rarely the final text of the book. Nearly all books are the result of countless hours of altering and reordering chunks of text and deleting the embarrassing bits. While some people might think that with new technology the checking and editing process is speeded up, the experienced writer would hardly agree. Unfortunately, advanced technology now allows the writer the luxury of countless editings; a temptation many of us find hard to resist. So a passage, endlessly reworked may end up nothing remotely like the original, and completely out of place when compared with the rest of the text.

After the trauma of self-editing and looking for howlers, it is time to show the text to other people, friends perhaps, for appraisal. At this stage, it is not wise to send it off to a literary agent or direct to publishers, as it may need further fine-tuning of which the author is unaware. Once an agent has been approached and has rejected a draft publication, it is difficult to go and ask for the revamped text to be considered again. It also helps, at this stage, to offer a synopsis of the book, if it is a novel, or an outline if it is a textbook. This acts as a guide for the author, and a general reference for friends and later for agents.

Although it is tempting to send the draft to every possible agent at one time, it is probably unwise. Some agents may reject the publication out of hand, but others may proffer some invaluable advice, for example about content or the direction to be taken. Hints like this may be of use in finally being given a contract by an agent or publisher.

The lucky few taken on by publishers or agents, then have their books subjected to a number of readers, whose job it is to vet a book: deciding whether it is worth publishing and whether the text as it stands is acceptable or not. After a book has finally been accepted by a publisher, one of the greatest difficulties for the writer lies in taking on board the publisher's alterations to the text. Whilst the overall story the thrust of the book may be acceptable, it will probably have to conform to an in-house style, as regards language, spelling or punctuation, etc. More seriously, the integrity of the text may be challenged, and this may require radical redrafting which is unpalatable to the author. A book's creation period is complex and unnerving, but the publisher's reworkings and text amputations can also be a tortuous process.

For many writers, the most painful period comes when the text has been accepted, and the writer is waiting for it to be put together for the printer. By this stage, it is not uncommon for the writer to be thoroughly sick of the text.

Abandon writing? Nonsense. Once smitten, it is not easy to escape the compulsion to create and write, despite the roller-coaster ride of contradictory emotions.

Questions 15 - 22

Complete the text below, which is a summary of the passage. Choose your answers from the Word Listbelow and write them in Boxes 15-22 on your answer sheet.

There are more words and phrases than spaces, so you will not be able to use them all. You may use each word or phrase only once.

Example: Anyone who wants to be a writer should __________.

Answer: beware.

People often associate writing with (15)___________. But being a writer involves managing conflicting emotions as well as (16)___________ or instinct. Advanced technology, contrary to what might be thought, does not make the (17)___________ faster.

When a writer has a draft of the text ready, it is a good idea to have a (1

_____________ for friends, etc. to look at. If an author is accepted by a publisher, the draft of the book is given to (19)_____________ for vetting. (20)______________ are then often made, which are not easy for the writer to agree.

However, (21)_____________ is compelling, even though there are (22) ______________.

Word List

editing process beware readers

first draft glamour a literary agent

alterations profession publisher

challenges writing dictating

research publishing summary

ups and downs roller-coaster

Questions 23 and 24

Choose the appropriate letters A - D and write them in Boxes 23 and 24 on your answer sheet.

23. In the planning stages of a book, ........

A. instinct can replace market research

B. market research can replace instinct

C. market research is essential

D. instinct frequently replaces market research

24. The problem with the use of advanced technology in editing is that ....

A. it becomes different from the original

B. it is unfortunate

C. it is a luxury

D. many writers cannot resist changing the text again and again.

Questions 25 - 28

Complete the sentences below. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage to complete each blank space.

25. Once a text is finished, the writer needs to get the __________ of other people.

26. Some agents may reject the draft of a book, while others may offer ___________.

27. Apart from the need for a draft to conform to an in-house style, a publisher's changes to a text may include ___________.

28. The publisher's alterations to a book are difficult for a writer, as it the ____________ as the book grows.

READING PASSAGE 3 Leisure time

A. A raft of forecasts has been made in recent decades, predicting the decline in the number of working hours coupled with a consequent increase in leisure time. It was estimated that the leisure revolution would take place by the turn of the last century with hours devoted to work falling to 25-30 per week. This reduction has failed to materialise, but the revolution has, nonetheless, arrived.

B. Over the past 30 to 40 years, spending on leisure has witnessed a strong increase. According to the annual family expenditure survey published in 1999 by the Office for National Statistics, the average household in the United Kingdom spent more on leisure than food, housing and transport for the very first time. And the trend is also set to continue upwards well into the present century.

C. The survey, based on a sample of 6,500 households showed, that the days are long gone when the average family struggled to buy basic foods. As recently as 1960, family spending on food was approximately one third compared to 17% now. Twelve years later, there was a noticeable shift towards leisure with the percentage of household spending on leisure increasing to 9%, and that on food declining to 26%.

D. The average household income in the UK in 1999 was £460 per week before tax, and average spending was £352.20. Of the latter sum, £59.70 was spent on leisure and £58.90 on food. On holidays alone, family expenditure was 6%, while in 1969 the proportion spent on holidays was just 2%. And whereas the richest 10% lashed out 20% of their income in 1999 on leisure, the poorest spent 12%.

E. Among the professional and managerial classes, working hours have increased and, overall in the economy, record numbers of people are in employment. As people work more, the appetite for leisure activities has grown to compensate for the greater stress in life. The past 5 years alone have seen the leisure business expand by 25% with a change in emphasis to short domestic weekend breaks, and long-haul short breaks to exotic destinations in place of long holidays. In the future, it is expected that people will jump from one leisure activity to another in complexes catering for everyone's needs with gyms, cinemas, cafes, restaurants, bars and internet facilities all under one roof. The leisure complexes of today will expand to house all the leisure facilities required for the leisure age.

F. Other factors fueling demand for leisure activities are rising prosperity, increasing longevity and a more active elderly population. Hence, at the forefront of leisure spending are not just the young or the professional classes. The 1999 family expenditure survey showed that the 64 to 75 year-old group spend a higher proportion of their income on leisure than any other age group. The strength of the "grey pound" now means that elderly people are able to command more respect and, thus, attention in the leisure market.

G. And the future? It is anticipated that, in the years to come, leisure spending will account for between a third to a half of all household spending. Whilst it is difficult to give exact figures, the leisure industry will certainly experience a long period of sustained growth. Working hours are not expected to decrease, partly because the 24-hour society will need to be serviced; and secondly, because more people will be needed to keep the service / leisure industries running.

H. In the coming decades, the pace of change will accelerate, generating greater wealth at a faster rate than even before. Surveys show that this is already happening in many parts of Europe. The south-east of England, for example, is now supposedly the richest area in the EEC. The "leisure pound" is one of the driving forces behind this surge. But, sadly, it does not look as if we will have the long leisure hours that we had all been promised.

Questions 29 - 35

Reading Passage 3 has 8 paragraphs (A-H). Choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph from the List of headings below. Write the appropriate numbers (i-xiv) in Boxes 29-35 on your answer sheet.

One of the headings has been done for you as an example.

You may use any heading more than once.

NB. There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.

29. Paragraph A

30. Paragraph B

31. Paragraph C

Example : Paragraph D Answer : iv

32. Paragraph E

33. Paragraph F

34. Paragraph G

35. Paragraph H

List of headings

i. Leisure spending goes up strongly

ii. Decreasing unemployment

iii. False forecasts

iv. Spending trends - leisure v food

v. More affordable food

vi. Leisure as an answer to stress

vii. Looking forward

viii. The leisure revolution - working hours reduced to 25

ix. The "grey pound" soars

x. Rising expenditure

xi. The elderly leisure market

xii. National Statisticians

xiii. Work, stress, and leisure all on the up

xiv. Money, yes, leisure time no

Questions 36 - 40

Do the statements below agree with the information in Reading Passage 3?

In Boxes 36-40, write:

Yes if the statement agrees with the information in the passage

No if the statement contradicts the information in the passage

Not Given if there is no information about the statement in the passage

Example: In recent decades, an increase in working hours was predicted.

Answer: No

36. At the turn of the last century, weekly work hours dropped to 25.

37. Spending on leisure has gone up over the past three decades.

38. Long holidays have taken the place of long-haul short breaks.

39. In future, people will pay less for the leisure facilities they use than they do today.

40. The 24-hour society will have a negative effect on people's attitudes to work.

TEST 4 PASSAGE 1 In or out?

British further education colleges did not traditionally have any concerns about student drop-out, because the origins of the sector were in vocational apprenticeship training for employers where the apprentices could not drop out without endangering their job. In the 70s, this sector began to expand into more general education courses, which were seen both as an alternative to school for 16-18 year-olds and a second chance for adults. The philosophy was mainly liberal with students regarded as adults who should not be heavily monitored, but rather free to make their own decisions; it was not uncommon to hear academic staff argue that attendance at classes was purely voluntary.

In the 80s, with an increased consciousness of equal opportunities, the focus of the further education colleges moved to widening participation, encouraging into colleges students from previously under-represented groups, particularly from ethnic minorities. This, in turn, led to a curriculum which was more representative of the new student body. For example, there were initiatives to ensure the incorporation of literature by black writers into A-level literature courses; history syllabuses were altered to move beyond a purely Eurocentric view of the world; and geography syllabuses began to look at the politics of maps.

A turning point came in 1991 with the publication of a report on completion rates by the government inspection body for education, Her Majesty's Inspectorate for England and Wales, (HMI 1991). However, this report was based on academic staff's explanations of why students had left. It suggested that the vast majority left either for personal reasons or because they had found employment and that only 10% left for reasons that could, in any way, be attributed to the college.

Meanwhile, Britain had been going through the Thatcherite revolution and, in parallel to the Reagan politics of the US, a key principle was the need to reduce taxation drastically. At this point ( and to a large extent still ) , further and higher education colleges were almost entirely funded from the public purse. There had been many cuts in this funding through the 80s, but no one had really looked at value for money. However, in the early 90s, the Audit Commission with Office of Standards in Education (OFSTED) (the new version of HMI) turned the spotlight onto further education and published a seminal report, Unfinished Business ( Audit Commission and OFSTED 1993), which showed that drop-out was happening on a significant scale and, crucially given the politics of the time, attributed a cost to the state of £500 million, arguing that this was a waste of public (i.e. taxpayers') money. To quote Yorke (1999), non-completion became political. The Audit Commission report coincided with government moves to privatise the functions of the state as much as possible; and with the decision to remove further education from the control of local government and give it a quasi-dependent status, where colleges were governed by independent boards of governors bidding to the state for funding to run educational provision. As part of this, a new series of principles for funding and bidding were developed (FEFC 1994) which incorporated severe financial penalties for student drop-out. In essence, the system is that almost all the state funding is attached to the individual student. There is funding for initial advice and guidance, on-course delivery and student achievement, but if the student drops out, the college loses that funding immediately, so that loss of students in the first term leads to an immediate loss of college funding for the other two terms. Not surprisingly, this focused the concern of colleges immediately and sharply on the need to improve student retention rates.

Recently, therefore, there has been considerable effort to improve retention but, as Martinez (1995) pointed out, there was no body of research on which to base strategies. An additional complexity was that colleges had been slow to computerise their student date and most colleges were in the position of not working what their retention rates were or any patterns involved. Where data did exist it was held separately by either administrative or academic staff with poor communication between these groups. Colleges, however, jumped into a number of strategies based largely on experience, instinct and common sense and publication of these began. (Martinez 1996; Martinez 1997; Kenwright 1996; Kenwright 1997).

The main strategies tried are outlined in the literature as summarised by Martinez (1996). These includ sorting activities around entry to ensure "best fit", supporting activities including child care, financial support and enrichment/learner support, connecting activities to strengthen the relationship between the college and the student, including mentoring and tutorials and activities to transform the student, including raising of expectations and study/career development support and tutoring.

Questions 1 - 3

Use the information in the text to match the each of the years listed (1-3) with one of the Key events in the development of further education (i-vii). Write the appropriate letters in Boxes 1-3 on your answer sheet. Note that there are more items listed under the Key events than years, so you will not use all of them.

Years

1. 1991

2. 1993

3. 1994

Key events in the development of further education

i. Severe penalties for drop-out are developed as part of college funding mechanisms

ii. Serious attempts are made to improve student support

iii. An influential report showing that non-completion rates are significantly high is published

iv. The lack of a strategical basis is officially recognised

v. The HMI is created

vi. Data on student completion rates for further education are published

vii. A minor report showing that non-completion rates are significantly high is published

Questions 4 - 8

Complete the sentences below. Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage to fill each blank space.

Write your answers in Boxes 4-8 on your answer sheet.

4. Further education colleges in Britain were originally not worried about student drop-out, because students did not leave college for fear of _____________.

5. According to the writer, the philosophy at further education colleges was _________________.

6. As people became more aware of equal opportunities, colleges encouraged students from under-represented groups, as a move to _________________.

7. The HMI's report focused on completion rates, based on ______________ of reasons for students' departure from college.

8. In the early 1990s, the political situation, both in Britain and the US, demanded a drastic ____________.

Questions 9 - 14

Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in Boxes 9-14 on your answer sheet.

9. The report Unfinished Business ......

A pointed out the politics of the time

B gave £500 million to the state

C linked drop-out to wasting money

D turned the spotlight

10. The new series of principles developed in 1994 by the FEFC ....

A gave money to each student

B was quasi-independent

C meant colleges had to turn their immediate attention to improving student retention rates

D was aimed at improving teacher retention rates

11. Attempts to reduce the student drop-out rate were hindered, because ....

A there was a lack of research data on which to base strategies

B colleges did not know what to do

C computers in colleges were slow

D colleges had no patterns

12. Further hindrances in reducing the student drop-out rate were ....

A colleges' slowness in computerising data and not knowing their retention rates, nor what patterns of retention existed

B college inertia and administrative incompetence

C computer glitches and strikes, which occurred at most colleges

D colleges not knowing their retention rates or where the patterns were

13. Colleges' strategies to deal with the problem of low retention ....

A brought administrative and academic staff together

B varied enormously

C jumped

D were based on something other than data

14. The main strategies to improve retention included ....

A "best fit" supporting activities

B activities to support and transform the student

C the raising of college expectations

D a summary by Martinez

1. 1991
2. 1993
3. 1994
4. Further education colleges in Britain were originally not worried about student drop-out, because students did not leave college for fear of _____________.
5. According to the writer, the philosophy at further education colleges was _________________.
6. As people became more aware of equal opportunities, colleges encouraged students from under-represented groups, as a move to _________________.
7. The HMI's report focused on completion rates, based on ______________ of reasons for students' departure from college.
8. In the early 1990s, the political situation, both in Britain and the US, demanded a drastic
9. The report Unfinished Business ......
10. The new series of principles developed in 1994 by the FEFC ....
11. Attempts to reduce the student drop-out rate were hindered, because ....
12. Further hindrances in reducing the student drop-out rate were ....
13. Colleges' strategies to deal with the problem of low retention ....
14. The main strategies to improve retention included ....

READING PASSAGE 2 Another intelligence?

Emotional intelligence as a theory was first brought to public attention by the book Emotional Intelligence, Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman, but the theory itself is, in fact, attributed to two Americans, John D. Mayer and Peter Salovey. What is emotional intelligence exactly? According to Goleman, Emotional Intelligence consists of five key elements. The first is knowing one's own emotions: being able to recognise that one is in an emotional state and having the ability to identify which emotion is being experienced, even if it is not a particularly comfortable feeling to admit to, e.g. jealousy or envy.

Emotional awareness can then lead to managing one's emotions. This involves dealing with emotions, like jealously, resentment, anger, etc., that one may have difficulty accepting by, perhaps, giving oneself comfort food, or doing nice things when one is feeling low. Many people do this instinctively by buying chocolate or treating themselves; others are able to wrap themselves in positive thoughts or "mother themselves". There are, of course, many people who are incapable of doing this, and so need to be taught. The third area is self-motivation. Our emotions can simultaneously empower and hinder us, so it is important to develop the ability to control them. Strategies can be learnt whereby emotions are set aside to be dealt with at a later date. For example, when dealing with the success or good fortune of others, it is better not to suppress any "negative" emotion that arises. One just has to recognise it is there. And then one just needs to be extra careful when making decisions and not allow one's emotions to cloud the issue, by letting them dictate how one functions with that person. The separation of logic and emotion is not easy when dealing with people.

As social beings, we need to be able to deal with other people which brings us to the next item on Goleman's list, namely: recognising emotions in other people. This means, in effect, having or developing "social radar", i.e. learning to read the weather systems around individuals or groups of people. Obviously, leading on from this is the ability to handle relationships. If we can recognise, understand and then deal with other people's emotions, we can function better both socially and professional. Not being tangible, emotions are difficult to analyse and quantify, compounded by the fact that each area in the list above, does not operate in isolation. Each of us has misread a friend's or a colleague's behaviour to us and other people. The classic example is the shy person, categorised by some people as arrogant and distant and by others as lively and friendly and very personable. How can two different groups make a definitive analysis of someone that is so strikingly contradictory? And yet this happens on a daily basis in all our relationships - even to the point of misreading the behaviour of those close to us! In the work scenario, this can cost money. And so it makes economic sense for business to be aware of it and develop strategies for employing people and dealing with their employees.

All common sense you might say. Goleman himself has even suggested that emotional intelligence is just a new way of describing competence; what some people might call savior faire or savoir vivre. Part of the problem here is that society or some parts of society have forgotten that these skills ever existed and have found the need to re-invent them.

But the emergence of Emotional Intelligence as a theory suggests that the family situations and other social interactions where social skills were honed in the past are fast disappearing, so that people now sadly need to be re-skilled.

Questions 15 - 19

Choose one phrase (A-I) from the List of phrases to complete each Key point below. Write the appropriate letters (A-I) in Boxes 15-19 on your answer sheet.

The information in the completed sentences should be an accurate summary of the points made by the writer.

NB. There are more phrases (A-I) than sentences, so you will not need to use them all. You may use each phrase once only.

Key points

15. Knowing one's emotions ........

16. One aspect of managing one's emotions ........

17. Self - motivation .........

18. The ability to recognise emotions in other people ...........

19. Handling relationships ..........

List of phrases

A empowers and hinders us F is the key to better social and professional functioning

B means many people eat chocolate G is particularly comfortable

C involves both recognition and identification H is like having social radar

D is intangible I is that someone emotions are difficult to accept

E is achieved by learning to control emotions

Questions 20 - 26

Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in Boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet.

20. Emotional Intelligence as a theory .....

A is attributed to Daniel Goleman

B was unheard of until the 1970s

C is attributed to Mayer and Salovey

D consists of at least five key areas

21. One ways of controlling emotions is to ......

A hinder them

B suppress the negative ones

C put them to the side to deal with later

D use both logic and emotion

22. As well as being intangible, the problem with emotions is that they ......

A are difficult

B are difficult to qualify

C do not operate in isolation

D are compounded

23. Misreading the behaviour of others .......

A is most common with those close to us

B is always expensive

C is a classic example

D happens on a daily basis

24. Employers need to .......

A save money

B know about people's emotions

C employ and deal with employees

D work scenario

25. Goleman links Emotional Intelligence to ........

A competence

B incompetence

C happiness

D common sense

26. The fact that the idea of Emotional Intelligence has emerged suggests that social interactions ......

A happen in the family

B need to be re-skilled

C care becoming less frequent

D are honed

Questions 27

Does the statement below agree with the information in Reading Passage 2?

In Box 27, write:

Yes if the statement agrees with the information in the passage

No if the statement contradicts the information in the passage

Not Given if there is no information about the statement in the passage

Example : John D. Mayer and Peter Salovey wrote "Emotional Intelligence, Why It can matter more than IQ".

Answer: No.

27. The author believes that the lack of Emotional Intelligence will lead to the disintegration of the family as a social unit.

15. Knowing one's emotions ........	involves both recognition and identification
16. One aspect of managing one's emotions ........
17. Self - motivation .........
18. The ability to recognise emotions in other people ...........
19. Handling relationships ..........
20. Emotional Intelligence as a theory .....
21. One ways of controlling emotions is to ......
22. As well as being intangible, the problem with emotions is that they ......
23. Misreading the behaviour of others .......
24. Employers need to .......
25. Goleman links Emotional Intelligence to ........
26. The fact that the idea of Emotional Intelligence has emerged suggests that social interactions ......
27. The author believes that the lack of Emotional Intelligence will lead to the disintegration of the family as a social unit.

READING PASSAGE 3 Pronunciation and physiognomy

Imagine the scene: you are sitting on the tube and on gets someone you instinctively feel is American. To make sure you ask them the time, and are right, but how did you know?

When we say someone "looks American", we take into consideration dress, mannerism and physical appearance. However, since the Americans do not constitute one single race, what exactly is meant by "look"? In fact, one salient feature is a pronounced widening around the jaw, a well-documented phenomenon.

The writer Arthur Koestler once remarked that friends of his, whom he met thirty years after they emigrated to the United States, had acquired an " American physiognomy", i.e. a broadened jaw, an appearance which is also prevalent in the indigenous population. An anthropologist friend of his attributed this to the increased use of the jaw musculature in American enunciation. This "change of countenance" in immigrants had already been observed by the historian M. Fishberg in 1910.

To paraphrase the philosopher Emerson, certain national, social and religious groups, such as ageing actors, long-term convicts and celibate priests, to give just a few examples, develop a distinguishing "look", which is not easily defined, but readily recognised. Their way of life affects their facial expression and physical features, giving the mistaken impression that these traits are of hereditary or "racial" origin. All the factors mentioned above contribute, as well as heredity. But the question of appearance being affected by pronunciation, as in the case of American immigrants (including those from other English speaking countries) over the course of many years, is of great interest, and calls for further study into the science of voice production. This can only benefit those working in the field of speech therapy, elocution and the pronunciation of foreign languages, and help the student from a purely physiological point of view. Naturally, the numerous psychological and socio-linguistic factors that inhibit most adult learners of foreign languages from acquiring a "good" pronunciation constitute a completely different and no less important issue that requires separate investigation.

The pronunciation of the various forms of English around the world today is affected by the voice being "placed" in different parts of the mouth. We use our speech organs in certain ways to produce specific sounds, and these muscles have to pratice to learn new phonemes. Non-Americans should look in the mirror while repeating " I really never heard of poor reward for valour" with full use of the USA retroflex /r/ phoneme, and note what happens to their jawbones after three or four repetitions. Imagine the effect of these movements on the jaw muscles after twenty years! This phoneme is one of the most noticeable features of US English and one that non-Americans always exaggerate when mimicking the accent. Likewise, standard British RP is often parodied, and its whine of superiority mocked to the point of turning the end of one's nose up as much as possible. Not only does this enhance the "performance", but also begs the question of whether this look is the origin of the expression "stuck up"?

On a Birmingham bus once, a friend pointed to a fellow passenger and said, "That man's Brummie accent is written all over his face." This was from someone who would not normally make crass generalisations. The interesting thing would be to establish whether thin lips and a tense, prominent chin are a result of the way Midlands English is spoken, or its cause, or a mixture of both. Similarly, in the case of Liverpool one could ask whether the distinctive "Scouse" accent was a reason for, or an effect of the frequency of high cheekbones in the local population.

When one "learns" another accent, as in the theatre for example, voice coaches often resort to images to help their students acquire the distinctive sound of the target pronunciation. With "Scouse", the mental aid employed is pushing your cheekbones up in a smile as high as they will go and imagining you've got a very slack mouth full of cotton wool. The sound seems to spring off the sides of your face - outwards and upwards. For a Belfast accent, one has to tighten the sides of the jaws until there is maximun tension, and speak opening the lips as little as possible. This gives rise to the well-known "Ulster jaw" phenomenon. Learning Australian involves imagining the ordeals of the first westerners transported to the other side of the world. When exposed to the merciless glare and unremitting heat of the southern sun, we instinctively screw up our eyes and grimace for protection.

Has this contributed to an Australian "look", and affected the way "Aussies" speak English, or vice versa? It is a curious chicken and egg conundrum, but perhaps the answer is ultimately irrelevant. Of course other factors affect the way people look and sound, and I am not suggesting for one minute that all those who speak one form of a language or dialect have a set physiognomy because of their pronunciation patterns. But a large enough number do, and that alone is worth investigating. What is important, however, is establishing pronunciation as one of the factors that determine physiognomy, and gaining a deeper insight into the origins and nature of the sounds of speech. And of course, one wonders what "look" one's own group has!

Questions 28 - 30

Use the information in the text to match the People listed (28-30) with the Observations (i-vii). Write the appropriate letter in Boxes 28-30 on your answer sheet. Note that there are more Observationsthan people, so you will not use all of them. You can use each Observation once only.

People

28. Koestler

29. Fishberg

30. Emerson

Observations

i. Americans use their jaw more to enunciate

ii. Immigrants acquire physiognomical features common among the indigenous population

iii. Facial expression and physical features are hereditary

iv. Lifestyle affects physiognomy

v. Americans have a broadened jaw

vi. The appearance of his friends had changed since they moved to the United States

vii. The change of countenance was unremarkable

Questions 31 - 36

Do the statements below agree with the information in Reading Passage 3?

In Boxes 31-36, write:

Yes if the statement agrees with the information in the passage

No if the statement contradicts the information in the passage

Not Given if there is no information about the statement in the passage

Example: Appearance is affected by pronunciation.

Answer: Yes.

31. Further study into the science of voice production will cost considerable sums of money.

32. The psychological and socio-linguistic factors that make it difficult for adult learners of foreign languages to gain "good" pronunciation are not as important as other factors.

33. Speech organs are muscles.

34. New phonemes are difficult to learn

35. People often make fun of standard British RP.

36. Facial features contribute to the incomprehensibility of Midlands English.

Questions 37 - 40

Choose one phrase (A-I) from the List of phrases to complete each Key point below. Write the appropriate letters (A-I) in Boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet.

The information in the completed sentences should be an accurate summary of the points made by the writer.

NB. There are more phrases (A-I) than sentences, so you will not need to use them all. You may use each phrase once only.

Key points

37. Voice coaches .........

38. The Scouse accent ..........

39. Whether the way we look affects the way we speak or the other way round ............

40. It is important to prove that pronunciation ..........

List of phrases

A can be achieved by using a mental aid E is a chicken and egg conundrum

B is irrelevant F get the target

C is worth investigating G can affect appearance

D use images to assist students H is not as easy as a Belfast one

with the desired pronunciation I makes you smile

[1] thanh

[2][2] ccccc

[3]

Công nghệ thông tin 365!!

IELTS Mc Carter

Written By Tuan.Dao.Duy on Chủ Nhật, 17 tháng 5, 2015 | 21:12

TEST 1 – READING PASSAGE 1: THE CREATION MYTH

TEST 1 – PASS 2- LOCKED DOORS, OPEN ACCESS.

READING PASSAGE 3: NATIONAL CUISINE AND TOURISM.

TEST 2 – READING PASSAGE 1 TEA TIMES

READING PASSAGE 2 Tyes and Greens

READING PASSAGE 3 Haydn's late quartets

TEST 3 READING PASSAGE 1 The politics of pessimism

READING PASSAGE 2 Caveat scriptor!

READING PASSAGE 3 Leisure time

TEST 4 PASSAGE 1 In or out?

READING PASSAGE 2 Another intelligence?

READING PASSAGE 3 Pronunciation and physiognomy

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