Reading Practice Test 3 [C1]

Part 1

-8 questions-

For Questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.

Phobias

The point of Phobia Awareness Week is to highlight the difficulties that many people face in everyday situations. It is important to (1) ... between a fear and a phobia. It's (2) ... usual for all of us to have our own peculiar fears, for example being anxious around snakes or nervous about flying. However, only a very small proportion of us actually have a phobia of these things. When these fears begin to (3) ... you embarrassment or you feel that your life is being disrupted then you would be wise to seek treatment for what could potentially be a phobia. By far the most (4) ... phobia and potentially the most disruptive is agoraphobia. The word derives from Greek and (5) ... means 'fear of the marketplace' but we apply it today to describe a distressing condition in which people (6) ... going outside because of the awful feelings of anxiety that arise. Treatment of phobias usually consists of the patient (7) ... behavioural therapy during which they gradually get used to being near the object or the situation that causes them fear. Drugs may be prescribed to treat anxiety and many people opt for alternative therapy such as acupuncture or hypnosis to help them come to (8) ... with their fear and conquer it.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

Part 2

- 8 questions -

For questions 9 – 16, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

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The origin of language

Part 3

- 8 questions -

For questions 17 – 24, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line. There is an example at the beginning (0).

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Fashion and Science

Part 4

-6 questions-

For questions 25 – 30, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between three and six words, including the word given. Here is an example (0).

Write only the missing words IN CAPITAL LETTERS.

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Part 5

- 6 questions -

You are going to read a review of two books about the internet. For questions 31 – 36, choose the
answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

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31. The reviewer starts with the metaphor of a city map in order to illustrate

32. What do the words ‘that test’ in line 13 refer to?

33. What point is made about the internet in the third paragraph?

34. What does the reviewer suggest about Zuckerman in the fifth paragraph?

35. Which of the following words is used to suggest disapproval?

36. What does the reviewer suggest about Aleks Krotoski in the final paragraph?

Part 6

- 4 questions -

You are going to read four reviews of a book about how architecture can affect the emotions. For questions 37 – 40, choose from the reviews A – D. The reviews may be chosen more than once.

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The Architecture of Happiness

Four reviewers comment on philosopher Alain De Botton’s book

A

Alain de Botton is a brave and highly intelligent writer who writes about complex subjects, clarifying the arcane for the layman. Now, with typical self-assurance, he has turned to the subject of architecture. The essential theme of his book is how architecture influences mood and behaviour. It is not about the specifically architectural characteristics of space and design, but much more about the emotions that architecture inspires in the users of buildings. Yet architects do not normally talk nowadays very much about emotion and beauty. They talk about design and function. De Botton's message, then, is fairly simple but worthwhile precisely because it is simple, readable and timely. His commendable aim is to encourage architects, and society more generally, to pay more attention to the psychological consequences of design in architecture: architecture should be treated as something that affects all our lives, our happiness and well-being.

B

Alain de Botton raises important, previously unasked, questions concerning the quest for beauty in architecture, or its rejection or denial. Yet one is left with the feeling that he needed the help and support of earlier authors on the subject to walk him across the daunting threshold of architecture itself. And he is given to making extraordinary claims: ‘Architecture is perplexing ... in how inconsistent is its capacity to generate the happiness on which its claim to our attention is founded.’ If architecture's capacity to generate happiness is inconsistent, this might be because happiness has
rarely been something architects think about. De Botton never once discusses the importance of such dull, yet determining, matters as finance or planning laws, much less inventions such as the lift or reinforced concrete. He appears to believe that architects are still masters of their art, when increasingly they are cogs in a global machine for building in which beauty, and how de Botton feels about it, are increasingly beside the point.

C

In The Architecture of Happiness, Alain de Botton has a great time making bold and amusing judgements about architecture, with lavish and imaginative references, but anyone in search of privileged insights into the substance of building design should be warned that he is not looking at drain schedules or pipe runs. He worries away, as many architects do, at how inert material things can convey meaning and alter consciousness. Although he is a rigorous thinker, most of de Botton’s revelations, such as the contradictions in Le Corbusier's theory and practice, are not particularly new. However, this is an engaging and intelligent book on architecture and something everyone, professionals within the field in particular, should read.

D

Do we want our buildings merely to shelter us, or do we also want them to speak to us? Can the right sort of architecture even improve our character? Music mirrors the dynamics of our emotional lives. Mightn’t architecture work the same way? De Botton thinks so, and in The Architecture of Happiness he makes the most of this theme on his jolly trip through the world of architecture. De Botton certainly writes with conviction and, while focusing on happiness can be a lovely way to make sense of architectural beauty, it probably won’t be of much help in resolving conflicts of taste.

 Part 7

- 6 questions -

You are going to read an extract from a magazine article about Macquarie Island. Six paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A – G the one which fits each gap (41 – 46). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

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A

This is mainly in the form of rabbits. Introduced in 1877 as a food source, they took to the island with gusto. Recent estimates of the rabbit population, before the eradication program began, ranged from 100,000 to 150,000.

B

It’s a realisation that makes all the more impressive the endeavours of the first explorers to come here. Here at Brothers Point, perched on a headland off the island’s east coast, we could be the last humans on Earth. In a geographical sense, we very nearly are.

C

The walk – just under 10km from the research station to the cabin – wasn’t meant to be in darkness. Some time after setting out, however, my photographer realised he had left a piece of camera equipment behind.

D

It’s one of the most ambitious programs of its type ever attempted. A worthy project indeed, but as the intense winds rage outside, I can empathise with Captain Douglass, an early visitor to the island. Arriving in 1822, Douglass called Macquarie ‘the most wretched place’.

E

The resultant landslips have devastating consequences. They have harmed hundreds of penguins as well as destroying nesting sites leaving local wildlife at risk. I begin to realise just how damaged this wilderness is.

F

At night, they are indistinguishable from the rocks that cover the ground; only their gurgling barks tell me when to jump. As I lose feeling in my fingers, numbed by glacial temperatures, I ask myself: Is this what I sailed to the bottom of the world for?

G

Macquarie achieved the listing 10 years earlier, partly in recognition of the fact that it is a geological freak. The island is ocean floor forced to the surface by the convergence of two tectonic plates – an ongoing process.

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Part 8

- 10 questions -

You are going to read a magazine article in which five career consultants give advice about starting a career. For questions 47 – 56, choose from the consultants (A – E). The consultants may be chosen more than once.

Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.

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Starting out on your career

Are you a graduate trying to plan out the best career path for yourself? We’ve asked five careers consultants to give some tips on how to go about it.

Consultant A

A university degree is no guarantee of a job, and job hunting in itself requires a whole set of skills. If you find you are not getting past the first interview, ask yourself what is happening. Is it a failure to communicate or are there some skills you lack? Once you see patterns emerging it will help you decide whether the gaps you have identified can be filled relatively easily. If you cannot work out what the mismatch is, get back to the selection panel with more probing questions, and find out what you need to do to bring yourself up to the level of qualification that would make you more attractive to them: but be careful to make this sound like a genuine request rather than a challenge or complaint.

Consultant B

Do not be too dispirited if you are turned down for a job, but think about the reasons the employers give. They often say it is because others are ‘better qualified’, but they use the term loosely. Those who made the second interview might have been studying the same subject as you and be of similar ability level, but they had something which made them a closer match to the selector’s ideal. That could be experience gained through projects or vacation work, or it might be that they were better at communicating what they could offer. Do not take the comments at face value: think back to the interviews that generated them and make a list of where you think the shortfall in your performance lies. With this sort of analytical approach you will eventually get your foot in the door.

Consultant C

Deciding how long you should stay in your first job is a tough call. Stay too long and future employers may question your drive and ambition. Of course, it depends where you are aiming. There can be advantages in moving sideways rather than up, if you want to gain real depth of knowledge. If you are a graduate, spending five or six years in the same job is not too long provided that you take full advantage of the experience. However, do not use this as an excuse for apathy. Graduates sometimes fail to take ownership of their careers and take the initiative. It is up to you to make the most of what’s available within a company, and to monitor your progress in case you need to move on. This applies particularly if you are still not sure where your career path lies.

Consultant D

It is helpful to think through what kind of experience you need to get your dream job and it is not a problem to move around to a certain extent. But in the early stages of your career you need a definite strategy for reaching your goal, so think about that carefully before deciding to move on from your first job. You must cultivate patience to master any role. There is no guarantee that you will get adequate training, and research has shown that if you do not receive proper help in a new role, it can take 18 months to master it.

Consultant E

A prospective employer does not want to see that you have changed jobs every six months with no thread running between them. You need to be able to demonstrate the quality of your experience to a future employer, and too many moves too quickly can be a bad thing. In any company it takes three to six months for a new employee to get up to speed with the structure and the culture of the company. From the company’s perspective, they will not receive any return on the investment in your salary until you have been there for 18 months. This is when they begin to get most value from you – you are still fired up and enthusiastic. If you leave after six months it has not been a good investment – and may make other employers wary.

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Which consultant makes the following statements?