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MODEL TEST - GENERAL TRAINING IELTS
(Time: 90 minutes)
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Section 1
Script:
Female: Scope charity office, how can I help you? Male: Oh hello. I'm ringing about the Dragon Boat Race that you're asking people to take part in. Female: Oh yes, we still need a few more teams. Are you interested in joining the race? Male: Yes, we want to enter a team but we don't know anything about it? Could I ask you for some more information first? Female: Of course. Male: I don't even know when it's being held. Female: It's taking place on the 2nd July ... Male: Is that a Saturday? Female: No, it's a Sunday. It's a much more popular day and more people can take part then. Male: Right. And where's it being held? Female: ... at the Brighton Marina. Male: Oh, I'm an overseas student ... Could you spell that for me? Female: Yes, it's Brighton Marina, that's MARINA. Do you know where it is? Male: I'm not sure. Female: It's a couple of miles past the Palace Pier. Male: Oh yes, I know it. Female: You take a right turning off the coast road or you can cycle along the seafront. Male: That's good. What time does the race start? Female: Well, the first heats begin at 10.00am - but you need to register half an hour before that - at 9.30 and we really recommend that you aim to be there by 9. It's a good idea to arrange a meeting place for your team. Male: Right ... And the race is to help raise money for charity? Female: It is. We're asking every team member to try and raise £35 by getting friends and/or relatives to sponsor them. Every crew member will receive a free tournament t-shirt if your team manages to raise £1.000 or more. Male: Oh that's quite good. Female: Also we're holding a raffle ... every crew member who takes part in the race this season will be entered into a free Prize Draw. Male: Oh, what's the prize? Female: It's pretty good - it's a holiday in Hong Kong. Male: Sounds great. Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or A NUMBER for each answer. EVENT DETAILS Type of event: Dragon Boat Race Race details: Day and date: (1)………… Place: Brighton (2)………… Registration time: (3)………… Sponsorship: Aim to raise over £ (4)………… as a team and get a free t-shirt Free Prize Draw for trip to (5)…………
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Sunday 2nd July/ Sun 2nd July
MARINA
Hong Kong
9.30 am/9.30
1,000/one thousand /a thousand
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Script:
Female: Is there anything else you need to know? Male: Could you just tell me a little bit more about the teams? Female: Well, you need to have a crew of 20 people for your dragon boat ... and you then need to agree on who’s going to be the team captain ... That would probably be you ... Male: Fine. Um, I've got a group of 20 people who are interested ... do all the team members have to be a certain age? Female: Well there's no age limit as such but if you have a team member who's under 18 then they have to get their parents' permission to take part. Male: Yes, that makes sense. Female: It isn't dangerous but we do have boats that turn over in the water and for that reason we insist that everyone wears a life jacket as well and you can hire life jackets from us when your team arrives. Male: What do you advise people to wear? Female: Well, most people wear a t-shirt, shorts and trainers. I certainly wouldn't recommend that you wear jeans or boots. In fact, it's a very good idea to bring some spare clothes. Male: OK. Female: It can get quite cold and wet if the weather's bad. And there's quite a bit of hanging around especially if you qualify for the semi-finals or the final ... Male: I see what you mean. Female: Have you got a name for your team? Male: Oh, not yet, no. Female: Well you need to decide on one and then put it on the entrance form which I'll send you ... Male: Oh OK. Female: So if you'd like to give me your address... Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or A NUMBER for each answer. EVENT DETAILS Type of event: Dragon Boat Race Team details: Must have crew of 20 and elect a (1)………… Under 18s need to have (2)………… to enter Need to hire (3)………… Advised to bring extra (4)………… Must choose a (5)………… for the team
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team captain/ captain
parents' permission
name
clothes/clothing/set of clothes
20 lifejackets /twenty lifejackets/ lifejackets
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Section 2
Script:
You will hear a podcast on Camber’s Theme Park. Welcome to Camber’s Park podcast. In the next few minutes, I’ll tell you a little about the park and the amazing things we have to offer. We like to think that Camber’s offers more than other theme parks. Like them, we have a variety of exciting rides for people of all ages, but Camber’s also places strong emphasis on the educational experience for its visitors ... not boring facts but lots of interactive exhibits. Although it’s mainly an outdoor experience, we do have some indoor activities if the weather gets too dreadful. The park’s got a lovely well established feel, set in eighty acres of beautiful countryside about three miles south of the tourist resort of Dulchester. The park was set up in nineteen ninety seven by the Camber family but then taken over by new owners in two thousand and four, who have maintained the original vision of the Cambers. It has lots of old trees, hundreds of flower beds and a gorgeous lake. Camber’s has over forty- five different rides, exhibits and arcades. All but one of these is free once you have paid your entrance fee (we charge a small fee for our newest ride, to reduce the length of the queues). You don’t pay anything for parking. A family ticket - for a family of four - works out at about eight pounds per person, which is amazing value. Full details of current prices are shown on our website, along with full details of rides, etc., and directions for getting to us. We also have a number of special offers. For example, if you live locally, why not join our Adventurers’ Club, which entitles you fifty percent off ticket prices all year round, and a special ‘lane’ for all rides and exhibits which means you don’t have to wait to get into any part of the park. See the Offers tab on the website. We’ve recently added a number of new exhibits to the park, and we’re particularly proud of our Future Farm Zone, which houses over twenty different species of animals, from chipmunks to dairy cows. The emphasis is on getting near to the animals - all of them can be petted and you can buy food for feeding the animals. Many of our younger visitors say that this is the high point of their visit! And speaking of food, don’t let the animals have all the fun. We have a total of seven different catering outlets on the site. We’re open ten to five thirty all year round and cold drinks and snacks can be bought at any time during opening hours. And hot food is available most of the day in the Hungry Horse café - from eleven until five - just half an hour before closing time. Choose the correct answer about Camber’s Theme Park
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1. According to the speaker, in what way is Camber′ s different from other theme parks?
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Explain:
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2. The Park first opened in ................
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Explain:
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3. What′s included in the entrance fee?
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Explain:
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4. Becoming a member of the Adventurers Club means ................
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Explain:
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5. The Future Farm zone encourages visitors to ................
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Explain:
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6. When is hot food available in the park?
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Explain:
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Script:
Now we want all our visitors to have an exciting time when they come to the park but our first priority must be safety. Parents and guardians know their children’s behaviour and capabilities. But here at the park we have set certain conditions for each of the rides to ensure that all visitors get the maximum enjoyment out of the experience and feel secure at all times. There are four major rides at the park. Our newest ride is the River Adventure which is designed to reproduce the experience of white-water rafting. No amount of protective clothing would make any difference so only go on this ride if you’re prepared to get wet! Children under eight can go on this ride, but all under sixteens must have an adult with them. Not all of our rides are designed for thrills and spills. Our Jungle Jim rollercoaster is a gentler version of the classic loop the loop, specially created for whole family enjoyment - from the smallest children to elderly grandparents, suitable for all levels of disability and health conditions. Carriages have comfortable seating for up to eight people, with safety belts for each passenger which must be worn at all times. Sit back and enjoy the scenery! One of the best established and most popular of Camber’s rides is the massive Swoop Slide. Whizz down the polished vertical slide nine metres in height and scream to your heart’s content. There are no age or height restrictions. Be careful though - you must have on long trousers so you won’t get any speed burns! And then there’s the famous Zip Go-kart stadium with sixteen carts: eight for single drivers and eight for kids preferring to ride along with mum, dad or carer. Take part in high-speed races in our specially designed Formula One-style karts - but no bumping other karts, please. All riders must be above one point two metres because they have to be able to reach the pedals ... even in the shared karts. Full details of all safety features are available on our website at www.Camberspark.com. So come and make a day of it at Camber’s Theme Park! What special conditions apply to the following rides?
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1. River Adventure
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Explain:
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2. Jungle Jim Rollercoaster
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Explain:
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Section 3
Script:
Ben: So, Tom, did you manage to get all your reading done? Tom: Yes, Ben, I did. What about you, Jane? Jane: Me too, though it took much longer than I thought it would. Ben: Yeah, some of those dissertations are really long, aren't they? Tom: Mm, I'm not looking forward to having to write mine... Jane: Well, that's not till next year. Ben: So, shall we compare thoughts about our reading? Let's start with Twentieth Century Architecture ... I thought it was pretty impressive. Tom: There was quite a bit of detail... Jane: Yeah, all very relevant. I enjoyed the pictures, the diagrams and photos. Tom: Mm, they were quite strange, not what you'd expect to find in a dissertation - but very helpful. Ben: Whereas sometimes I couldn't really follow the arguments. Tom: Yes - a bit of a mixed bag, really. While Modem Construction was very serious and thorough, wasn't it? Jane: Indeed. Actually, it was rather dense - I didn't find it particularly easy to read, either. Ben: The index was excellent, though, so I used that to guide me around. Tom: I still think it was a bit high-level. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to try and cope with it in the first year. Jane: No, that's not who it's aimed at, of course. What about Steel. Glass and Concrete? Not the world's most interesting title, of course. Ben: Again, the index was helpful, though I think we could have done with more photos - there weren't really enough to support what he was saying in places. Jane: Yeah. But what he was saying was easy to follow, wasn't it? He takes you through step-by-step. Tom: It was hard to believe it had been translated - seemed very natural. Ben: Actually, it was better written than the next one, The Space We Make. Jane: But we're supposed to be thinking about architectural ideas, not being literary critics! I liked that one. Ben: Really? I just didn't think it covered the whole situation. Tom: Mm, it didn't out the question of housing into the context of the time. Ben: You mean how in the fifties economic austerity limited the finances available, while a growing population needed housing quickly? Tom: Exactly. Jane: Again, I think you're asking too much of these dissertations. Ben: Perhaps you're right. Well, I did like Change and Tradition anyway. Very focused. Tom: Yes, although I did think it was oddly arranged in some ways. When you went to the index to track something down, you couldn't necessarily find what you wanted. Ben: I know what you mean. But, I have to say, I'd be very proud if I'd written any of these. Jane: True. Tom: And you will next year! What opinion is expressed about each dissertation?
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1. Twentieth Century Architecture
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Explain:
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2. Modern Construction
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Explain:
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3. Steel, Glass and Concrete
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Explain:
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4. The Space We Make
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Explain:
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5. Change and Tradition
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Explain:
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Script:
Ben: Never mind next year, it's this year that's the problem. I'm never going to get this assignment done. Jane: Yes, you are. Tom: Come on. Let's make a plan for you. Ben: Please. I'm just not sure where to go from here. I could look at city plans, study the layout of housing developments. Jane: I think you need a closer focus. The approach to small houses won't necessarily tell you what you want to know. You'd be better to concentrate on large private houses, study the drawings of those. Ben: OK. Though I don't know how much useful detail I'll be able to get from the kinds of plans that are easily available from that period. Tom: It's true, they can be limited. But what you could do as a next stage is go on to the web - there's loads of useful stuff there. Ben: More detailed plans you mean? Tom: Well, I was thinking more of illustrations, that kind of thing. Do a search for window designs ... I'm sure you'll find some good ones. Jane: I agree. And not just online. See what you do find there, and then, for your next step, check both campus libraries - I think you'll be able to get hold of books which will give you further information, and you need to know more about typical furniture of the time. Ben: This is all very helpful - thanks guys. I'm beginning to think I should be able to get something done for Dr Forbes after all. At least I can see I'll be in a position to tell him the section headings. Tom: Well, a bit more than that would be better. Put your outline plan together, and give him that to look at. Ben: Mm, yes. But I'll still need to keep reading, won't I? Jane: Yeah. Once Dr Forbes has okayed what you've done at that point, you could then go and see Dr Gray - he's very approachable, and I'm sure he'd be happy to provide you with further references, and then you could take it from there. Ben: That'd be really useful. Well, thanks again - let me get you both another coffee. Complete the flow chart below. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
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typical furniture
references
window designs
outline plan
large private houses
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Section 4
Script:
I’ve been doing some research into what people in Britain think of doctors, the ones who work in general practice - the first call for medical care - and comparing this with the situation in a couple of other countries. I want to talk about the rationale behind what I decided to do. Now I had to set up my programme of research in three different countries so I approached postgraduates in my field in overseas departments, contacting them by email, to organise things for me at their end. I thought I would have trouble recruiting help but in fact everyone was very willing and sometimes their tutors got involved too. I had to give my helpers clear instructions about what kind of sample population I wanted them to use. I decided that people under 18 should be excluded because most of them are students or looking for their first job, and also I decided at this stage just to focus on men who were in employment, and set up something for people who didn’t have jobs and for employed women later on as a separate investigation. I specifically wanted to do a questionnaire, and interviews with a focus group. With the questionnaire, rather than limiting it to one specific point, I wanted to include as much variety as possible. I know questionnaires are a very controlled way to do things but I thought I could do taped interviews later on to counteract the effects of this. And the focus group may also prove useful in future, by targeting subjects I can easily return to, as the participants tend to be more involved. So I’m just collating the results now. At the moment it looks as if, in the UK, despite the fact that newspapers continually report that people are unhappy with medical care, in fact it is mainly the third level of care, which takes place in hospitals, that they are worried about. Government reforms have been proposed at all levels and although their success is not guaranteed, long-term hospital care is in fact probably less of an issue than the media would have us believe. However, I’ve still got quite a bit of data to look at. Certainly I will need to do more far-reaching research than I had anticipated in order to establish if people want extra medical staff invested in the community, or if they want care to revert to fewer, but larger, key medical units. The solution may well be something that can be easily implemented by those responsible in local government, with central government support of course. This first stage has proved very valuable though. I was surprised by how willing most of the subjects were to get involved in the project -I had expected some unwillingness to answer questions honestly. But I was taken aback and rather concerned that something I thought I’d set up very well didn’t necessarily seem that way to everyone in my own department. I thought you might also be interested in some of the problems I encountered in collecting my data. There were odd cases that threw me - one of the subjects who I had approached while he was out shopping in town, decided to pull out when it came to the second round. It was a shame as it was someone who I would like to have interviewed more closely. And one of the first-year students I interviewed wanted reassurance that no names would be traceable from the answers. I was so surprised, because they think nothing of telling you about themselves and their opinions in seminar groups! Then, one of the people that I work with got a bit funny. The questions were quite personal and one minute he said he’d do it, then the next day he wouldn’t, and in the end he did do it. It’s hard not to get angry in that situation but I tried to keep focused on the overall picture in order to stay calm. The most bizarre case was a telephone interview I did with a teacher at a university in France. He answered all my questions in great detail - but then when I asked how much access he had to dangerous substances he wouldn’t tell me exactly what his work involved. It’s a real eye-opener... Choose the correct answer about “research on questions about doctors”.
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1. In order to set up her research programme, Shona got ................
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Explain:
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2. What types of people were included in the research?
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Explain:
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3. Shona says that in her questionnaire her aim was ................
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Explain:
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4. What do Shona′s initial results show about medical services in Britain?
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Explain:
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5. Shona needs to do further research in order to
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Explain:
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6. Shona has learnt from the research project that
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Explain:
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Script:
I’ve been doing some research into what people in Britain think of doctors, the ones who work in general practice - the first call for medical care - and comparing this with the situation in a couple of other countries. I want to talk about the rationale behind what I decided to do. Now I had to set up my programme of research in three different countries so I approached postgraduates in my field in overseas departments, contacting them by email, to organise things for me at their end. I thought I would have trouble recruiting help but in fact everyone was very willing and sometimes their tutors got involved too. I had to give my helpers clear instructions about what kind of sample population I wanted them to use. I decided that people under 18 should be excluded because most of them are students or looking for their first job, and also I decided at this stage just to focus on men who were in employment, and set up something for people who didn’t have jobs and for employed women later on as a separate investigation. I specifically wanted to do a questionnaire, and interviews with a focus group. With the questionnaire, rather than limiting it to one specific point, I wanted to include as much variety as possible. I know questionnaires are a very controlled way to do things but I thought I could do taped interviews later on to counteract the effects of this. And the focus group may also prove useful in future, by targeting subjects I can easily return to, as the participants tend to be more involved. So I’m just collating the results now. At the moment it looks as if, in the UK, despite the fact that newspapers continually report that people are unhappy with medical care, in fact it is mainly the third level of care, which takes place in hospitals, that they are worried about. Government reforms have been proposed at all levels and although their success is not guaranteed, long-term hospital care is in fact probably less of an issue than the media would have us believe. However, I’ve still got quite a bit of data to look at. Certainly I will need to do more far-reaching research than I had anticipated in order to establish if people want extra medical staff invested in the community, or if they want care to revert to fewer, but larger, key medical units. The solution may well be something that can be easily implemented by those responsible in local government, with central government support of course. This first stage has proved very valuable though. I was surprised by how willing most of the subjects were to get involved in the project -I had expected some unwillingness to answer questions honestly. But I was taken aback and rather concerned that something I thought I’d set up very well didn’t necessarily seem that way to everyone in my own department. I thought you might also be interested in some of the problems I encountered in collecting my data. There were odd cases that threw me - one of the subjects who I had approached while he was out shopping in town, decided to pull out when it came to the second round. It was a shame as it was someone who I would like to have interviewed more closely. And one of the first-year students I interviewed wanted reassurance that no names would be traceable from the answers. I was so surprised, because they think nothing of telling you about themselves and their opinions in seminar groups! Then, one of the people that I work with got a bit funny. The questions were quite personal and one minute he said he’d do it, then the next day he wouldn’t, and in the end he did do it. It’s hard not to get angry in that situation but I tried to keep focused on the overall picture in order to stay calm. The most bizarre case was a telephone interview I did with a teacher at a university in France. He answered all my questions in great detail - but then when I asked how much access he had to dangerous substances he wouldn’t tell me exactly what his work involved. It’s a real eye-opener... Which statement applies to each of the following people who were interviewed by Shona?
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1. a person interviewed in the street ................
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Explain:
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2. an undergraduate at the university ................
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Explain:
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3. a colleague in her department ................
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Explain:
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4. a tutor in a foreign university ................
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Explain:
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Passage 1
HAVING A LOVELY TIME? A chance to relax and leave your worries behind? For some, holidays are nothing but trouble as the results of one survey showed When you think about it, it's amazing that anyone gets away with a carefree holiday. It seems there is limitless potential for things to go wrong, from flight delays and lost luggage to poor accommodation. A recent questionnaire showed that a third of people who replied had a complaint about their holiday last year. And when these unhappy holiday-makers discussed the problem with their tour company nearly half said it involved time and effort on their part to resolve things. When asked exactly what the reasons were for their dissatisfaction top of the list was flight delays and 20 per cent of holiday-makers to Europe said they had to wait up to an hour. More worrying is the fact that almost a third of holiday-makers who had complained said it was about the apartment or hotel room they had been allocated. There is an enormous variety of holiday accommodation and we recommend that consumers look for places that have been inspected by the Tourist Boards; this way they can have the confidence that they will get the type of accommodation they are looking for. It seems that tour companies now offer more honest accurate brochures though. Eight-five per cent of holiday-makers who responded to our questionnaire said the description offered by the company matched the place they visited and the facilities provided. This is good news for the industry and for holiday-makers. A holiday is a major purchase - yet it's one we can't try before we pay. All we have to go on is the brochure and it's a credit to tour operators that they now contain more detail. OUR ADVICE DO be realistic. No one should be palmed off with a poor standard of service, food or accommodation even if you paid a rock- bottom price for a last- minute break. However, be reasonable - you won't get a room with the best view in town if you've paid a budget price. DO complain to the right person. Moaning to the waiter about a week's worth of appalling food, then writing an indignant letter when you get back home won't have the same impact as airing your grievances at the time. DO get evidence for a serious problem such as having a building site instead of the promised swimming pool below your window. Take a photo to back up your case. DON'T write and complain for the sake of it. Letters can be powerful as long as they're about something you have a good reason to complain about. DON'T lose your temper. Easier said than done, but you're more likely to get results if you state your case firmly explain why you think there's a problem then suggest a reasonable solution. Look at the article about holidays and at the statements below. Choose: TRUE if the statement is true FALSE if the statement is false NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage
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1. Solving problems can be hard work for the holiday-maker.
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Explain:
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2. The most common problem for holiday-makers is crowded airports.
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Explain:
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3. Overall, holiday accommodation poses few problems.
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Explain:
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4. Tour companies provide a satisfactory level of information to holiday-makers.
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Explain:
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5. A low-cost holiday should still offer some high-quality services.
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Explain:
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6. Hotel staff can advise you on who you should complain to.
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Explain:
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7. Photographs may help to support an argument about a holiday problem.
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Explain:
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8. If you are not good at writing letters, find someone to help you.
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Explain:
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HIRING A CAR ONLINE Online car hire promises to be cheap, quick and convenient. But is it? Neil McDougall revs up his mouse A Autos.com Just click on the reservations button, fill in your home country, destination and dates, pick a car and you're into the booking form without any fuss and with all the charges, fixed and optional, laid out. There's also a detailed rental guide explaining your contract. B Cash.com.uk One to consider if you’re going to the States, although, after I'd worked through half the booking process, it returned an error message without telling me which element of the procedure needed adjusting. I got there in the end. There is an Inspirational section with detailed directions for some of the great drives of America. C Expeed.org.uk Book a flight with Expeed and when you continue on to the car-hire section, the software already knows where you are going and when. However, you seem to be restricted to cities with airports for your car hire, and additional taxes are presented in travel- agent speak. D Cutprice.com Is currently offering an aggressive lowest rates guarantee, an extra discount for former Holtravel clients and a package of free gifts to sweeten the deal. It also commits to no insurance excess on any of their rentals anywhere. E Hot.org Straightforward to navigate, with plenty of information on rental requirements and rules of operation. There are photographs of the types of vehicles available, leaving no doubt what a 'premium' or 'compact' car is. It took me just seconds to start reserving a car but then the whole thing ground to a halt and refused all attempts to access the reservation system. F Cars.net Another site offering discounts for booking online, but also special late deals (for example £35 off a Renault Megane in Majorca last week). Prices are fully inclusive of insurance and there is a reassuringly large small-print section. G Cover.org A three-step process to rent cars in 70 countries. Very flash and slick, so much so that people with older computers may have trouble getting this information. Limited selection of online tourist attractions (but that's more than most give you). Graphically complex but impressive booking system. H Cheapandcheerful.net.uk Avoids unnecessary embellishments online but the booking procedure is as good as it gets. Enter how many miles you expect to drive and tick your insurance, driver and child-seat choices and they will all be included in the final price. You must contact the location directly if you need a car within 3 days. And to hire a car abroad, there's a dull email form to fill in and they'll get back to you. Now read the information and answer questions. Match the car-hire websites to the statements. NB Some of the websites may be chosen more than once.
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1. It is possible to see what the cars look like.
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Explain:
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2. Assistance is provided with some holiday routes.
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Explain:
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3. You will get cheaper car hire if you have used the company before.
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Explain:
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4. Attempts made by the writer to book a car were unsuccessful.
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Explain:
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5. You can only hire a car in certain locations.
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Explain:
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6. The site is suited to people with up-to-date hardware.
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Explain:
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Passage 2
Organizing Your Desk Follow these easy steps to a clutter-free desk: A The best way to begin is with a clean slate. Remove everything from the top of the desk—office supplies, documents, computer, printer—everything. Then move on to the drawers. Take out everything, then wipe down all surfaces with a damp cloth. Now all is clean and you are ready to start a new. B Next, take all those supplies and materials and sort through them. Group similar items together. For example, you might have a pile for small supplies such as paperclips and rubber bands, one for filing materials such as folders and labels, one for paperwork pertaining to current projects and another for paperwork to be filed, and so on. Group the items in a way that makes sense to you and the way you work. C Now, create an appropriate place for each group of items. A few items can be kept on the desktop, such as a pencil holder or a mail tray, but try to keep the desktop as clear as possible. Office supply stores sell a variety of trays, boxes, and other containers that are handy for storing everything from paper clips to large documents. They will help you keep both the drawers and the desktop organized. D Now you have completed the most important steps. Everything on your desk is organized. How will you keep it that way? The best way is to follow a routine. After you have finished using the paper clips or the scissors, put them back intheir place. As soon as mail arrives on your desk, attend to it instead of letting it pile up. By developing regular practices like these, you will find it much easier to keep your desk organized. E Even when you have become accustomed to the routine of putting everything back in its place after use, you may still find that over time the organization starts to break down. This is why it is a good idea to develop a schedule. If you spend a short while reorganizing your desk at the end of every week or every month, you can keep the clutter from becoming overwhelming. F It is worth the small amount of time and effort it takes to keep your deskorganized. Why? Psychologists tell us that an organized work space leads to more efficient and productive work. The following reading passage has six sections, A—F.Choose the correct heading for each section from the list of headings below. There are more headings than sections, so you willnot use them all.
Telecommuting Telecommuting, defined as working from home at least part of the time, is an increasingly common way to work. It has many benefits for employees. The fact that a telecommuter does not have to spend time each day traveling to and from work is one obvious advantage. Working from home can mean significant savings in time and money that was formerly spent on daily travel. The telecommuter no longer has to spend part of his or her salary just to get to work in order to earn that salary. Not having to deal with traffic, bus schedules, or other logistics of travel also saves the telecommuter a good deal of unnecessary stress. As a result, the telecommuter can approach work with more energy and more positive feelings. There can also be a similar positive effect on the telecommuter’s personal life, as there will bemore energy and time left to devote to family. Telecommuting is not for everyone. It works best for people who are able to managetheir own time and work independendy. Unfortunately, even the most independentworker can start to feel isolated over time. This can be managed, however,by creating a schedule that balances work hours spent at home with work hoursspent at the office. Many telecommuters, for example, go into the office periodicallyin order to attend staff meetings or work with colleagues. Another issue manytelecommuters face is the distractions of home life. It can be hard to concentrate onwork when family members are demanding attention. Therefore, it is important fortelecommuters to establish a work plan that is satisfactory to all members of the family.In addition, some telecommuters find that spending their workday at homeresults in higher costs for electricity and heating. They may also have new expenses,such as paying for an Internet connection, that they did not have before. Choose the correct answer.
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1. Which FOUR of the following advantages of telecommuting are mentioned in the passages?
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Explain:
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2. Which THREE of the following disadvantages of telecommuting are mentioned inthe passage?
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Passage 3
TALKING POINT Learning a second language fuels children’s intelligence and makes their job prospects brighter. But the fact is, in New Zealand, as in many other English-speaking countries, speakers of two or more languages are in the minority. Eighty-four percent of New Zealanders are monolingual (speakers of only one language). This leaves a small number who claim to speak two or more languages - a small percentage of whom were born in New Zealand. No matter how proud people are of their cultural roots, to speak anything other than English is a marker of difference here. That’s why eight-year-old Tiffany Dvorak no longer wishes to speak her mother-tongue, German, and eight-year-old Ani Powell is embarrassed when people comment on the fact that she is able to speak Maori. As Joanne Powell, Ani’s mother, points out: ‘In Europe, it’s not unusual for kids to be bilingual. But, if you speak another language to your children in New Zealand, there are some people who think that you are not helping them to become a member of society.’ But in fact, the general agreement among experts is that learning a second language is good for children. Experts believe that bilinguals - people who speak two languages - have a clear learning advantage over their monolingual schoolmates. This depends on how much of each language they can speak, not on which language is used, so it doesn’t matter whether they are learning Maori or German or Chinese or any other language. Cathie Elder, a professor of Language Teaching and Learning at Auckland University, says: ‘A iot of studies have shown that children who speak more than one language sometimes learn one language more slowly, but in the end they do as well as their monolingual schoolmates, and often better, in other subjects. The view is that there is an improvement in general intelligence from the effort of learning another language.’ Dr Brigitte Halford, a professor of linguistics at Freiburg University in Germany, agrees. ‘Bilinguals tend to use language better as a whole,’ she says. They also display greater creativity and problem-solving ability, and they learn further languages more easily.’ So with all of the benefits, why do we not show more enthusiasm for learning other languages? Parents and teachers involved in bilingual education say pressure from friends at school, general attitudes to other languages in English-speaking countries, and problems in the school system are to blame. In New Zealand, immigrants face the possibility of culture being lost along with the language their children no longer wish to speak. Tiffany’s mother, Susanne Dvorak, has experienced this. When she and husband Dieter left Germany six years ago to start up a new life in New Zealand, they thought it would be the perfect opportunity to raise their two-year-old as a bilingual. After all, bilingual Turkish families in Germany were normal and Susanne had read all the books she could find on the subject. The idea was to have home as a German language environment and for Tiffany to learn English at nursery school. But when Tiffany went to nursery school she stopped talking completely. She was quiet for about two or three months. Then, when she took up talking again, it was only in English. Concerned for her language development, Dieter started speaking English to his daughter while Susanne continued in German. Today, when Susanne speaks to her daughter in German, she still answers in English. ‘Or sometimes she speaks half and half. I checked with her teacher and she very seldom mixes up German and English at school. She speaks English like a New Zealander. It’s her German that’s behind,’ says Susanne. Professor Halford, also a mother of two bilingual children, says, ‘It’s normal for kids to refuse to speak their home language at the stage when they start to socialise with other kids in kindergarten or school’. But, she says, this depends a lot on the attitudes of the societies in question. In monolingual societies, like New Zealand, ‘kids want to be like all the others and sometimes use bilingualism as one of the battlefields for finding their own identity in contrast to that of their parents.’ She supports Susanne’s approach of not pressuring her daughter. ‘Never force the child to use a specific language, just keep using it yourself. The child will accept that. There is often a time when children or teenagers will need to establish their own identity as different from their schoolmates and they may use their other language to do so.’ Cathie Elder thinks immigrant parents should only speak English to their children if they are able to use English well themselves. ‘What parents should do is provide rich language experiences for their children in whatever language they speak well. They may feel like outsiders and want to speak the local language, but it is more important for the child’s language development to provide a lot of language experience in any language.’ There can be differences between children in attitudes to learning languages. Susanne Dvorak’s two-year-old son, Danyon, is already showing signs of speaking German and English equally well. While her ‘ideal’ scenario hasn’t happened with Tiffany, she is aware that her daughter has a certain bilingual ability which, although mainly passive at this stage, may develop later on. Joanne Powell feels the same way about her daughter, Ani. ‘At the moment she may not want to speak Maori but that’s okay because she’ll pick it up again in her own time. It’s more important that she has the ability to understand who she is. By learning another language she can open the door to another culture.’ Donna Chan, 25, a marketing specialist for IBM, arrived here with her parents from Hong Kong when she was four. She also remembers refusing to speak Chinese when she started primary school. But now she appreciates she had the chance to be bilingual. ‘It’s quite beneficial speaking another language in my job. Last year, my company sent me to a trade fair in Hong Kong because I could speak Chinese. Being bilingual definitely opens doors,’ she says.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the text? TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
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1. Most people who speak a second language in New Zealand were born in another country.
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2. Most New Zealanders believe it is good to teach children a second language.
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3. Chinese is the most common foreign language in New Zealand.
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4. Some languages develop your intelligence more than others.
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Match each statement with the correct person. NB You may use any name more than once.
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1. Children learning two languages may learn one language faster.
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2. It has been unexpectedly difficult to raise a bilingual child in New Zealand.
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3. Her daughter sometimes speaks a mixture of two languages.
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4. Children′s attitudes to language depend on general social attitudes.
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5. It is not important which language parents speak with their children.
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6. Learning a second language provides opportunities to learn another culture.
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7. Speaking a second language provides work opportunities.
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1. Which TWO people stopped speaking one language as a child?
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2. Which TWO people think that their children′s language may develop as they get older?
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