Practice Test 3 TEST 3

READING
READING PASSAGE 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-12 which are based on Reading
Passage 2 below.

SPOKEN CORPUS COMES TO LIFE

A The compiling of dictionaries has been historically the
provenance of studious professorial types - usually bespectacled
- who love to pore over weighty tomes and make
pronouncements on the finer nuances of meaning. They were
probably good at crosswords and definitely knew a lot of words,
but the image was always rather dry and dusty. The latest
technology, and simple technology at that, is revolutionising the
content of dictionaries and the way they are put together.

B For the first time, dictionary publishers are incorporating real,

spoken English into their data. It gives lexicographers (people
who write dictionaries) access to a more vibrant, up-to-date
vernacular language which has never really been studied before.
In one project, 150 volunteers each agreed to discreetly tie a
Walkman recorder to their waist and leave it running for
anything up to two weeks. Every conversation they had was
recorded. When the data was collected, the length of tapes was
35 times the depth of the Atlantic Ocean. Teams of audio typists
transcribed the tapes to produce a computerised database of ten
million words.

C This has been the basis - along with an existing written corpus -
for the Language Activator dictionary, described by
lexicographer Professor Randolph Quirk as “the book the world
has been waiting for”. It shows advanced foreign learners of
English how the language is really used. In the dictionary, key
words such as “eat” are followed by related phrases such as
“wolf down” or “be a picky eater”, allowing the student to
choose the appropriate phrase.
D “This kind of research would be impossible without
computers,” said Delia Summers, a director of dictionaries. “It
has transformed the way lexicographers work. If you look at the
word “like”, you may intuitively think that the first and most
frequent meaning is the verb, as in “I like swimming”. It is not.
It is the preposition, as in: “she walked like a duck”. Just

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 because a word or phrase is

2
 Reading

used doesn’t mean it ends up in a dictionary. The sifting out process is as

vital as ever. But the database does allow lexicographers to
search for a word and find out how frequently it is used -
something that could only be guessed at intuitively before.

E Researchers have found that written English works in a very

different way to spoken English. The phrase “say what you like”
literally means “feel free to say anything you want”, but in
reality it is used, evidence shows, by someone to prevent the
other person voicing disagreement. The phrase “it”s a question
of crops up on the database over and over again. It has nothing to
do with enquiry, but it’s one of the most frequent English
phrases which has never been in a language learner’s dictionary
before: it is now.

F The Spoken Corpus computer shows how inventive and

humorous people are when they are using language by twisting
familiar phrases for effect. It also reveals the power of the
pauses and noises we use to play for time, convey emotion,
doubt and irony.

G For the moment, those benefiting most from the Spoken Corpus
are foreign learners. “Computers allow lexicographers to search
quickly through more examples of real English,” said Professor
Geoffrey Leech of Lancaster University. “They allow
dictionaries to be more accurate and give a feel for how
language is being used.” The Spoken Corpus is part of the larger
British National Corpus, an initiative carried out by several
groups involved in the production of language learning
materials: publishers, universities and the British Library.

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Practice Test
3
Questions 1-6

Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs (A-G). Choose the most suitable heading for each
paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the appropriate numbers (i-xi) in boxes 1-
6 on your answer sheet. Paragraph C has been done for you as an example.
NB There are more headings than paragraphs so you will not use all of them. You may
use any heading more than once.

List of Headings
i Grammar is corrected
ii New method of research
iii Technology learns from dictionaries
iv Non-verbal content
v The first study of spoken language
vi Traditional lexicographical methods
vii Written English tells the truth
viii New phrases enter dictionary
ix A cooperative research project
x Accurate word frequency counts
xi Alternative expressions provided

1 Paragraph A
2 Paragraph B
Example Answer
Paragraph C xi

3 Paragraph D
4 Paragraph E
5 Paragraph F
6 Paragraph G

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 Rreading

Questions 7-11

The diagram below illustrates the information provided in paragraphs B-F of Reading Passage
1 Complete the labels on the diagram with an appropriate word or words Use NO MORE
THAN THREE WORDS for each space Write your answers in boxes 7 11 on your answer
sheet

Example
Current, real-life data The portrayal of
collected during feelings through
.R...e...s..e..a...c..h..... ... (11) ...

...................

Spoken Corpus
Data from computer
... (7) ...
written corpus

LANGUAGE
ACTIVATOR

Key words
Differences between
and
written and
... (8) ...
Most frequently ... (10) ... use
used ... (9) ... of
words.

Choose the appropriate letter A-D and write it in box 12 on your answer sheet
12 Why was this article written?
A To give an example of a current dictionary.
B To announce a new approach to dictionary writing.
C To show how dictionaries have progressed over the years.
D To compare the content of different dictionaries

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 Practice Test
3
READING PASSAGE 2

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 13-26 which are based on Reading Passage 2
below.

Moles happy as homes go underground

A The first anybody knew about Dutchman moles. Growing numbers of Europeans
Frank Siegmund and his family was are burrowing below ground to create
when workmen tramping through a field houses, offices, discos and shopping
found a narrow steel chimney malls. It is already proving a way of life
protruding through the grass. Closer in extreme climates; in winter months in
inspection revealed a chink of sky-light Montreal, Canada, for instance, citizens
window among the thistles, and when can escape the cold in an underground
amazed investigators moved down the complex complete with shops and even
side of the hill they came across a pine health clinics. In Tokyo builders are
door complete with leaded diamond glass planning a massive underground city to
and a brass knocker set into an be begun in the next decade, and
underground building. The Siegmunds underground shopping malls are already
had managed to live undetected for six common in Japan, where 90 percent of
years outside the border town of Breda, the population is squeezed into 20
in Holland. percent of the landspace.
They are the latest in a clutch of
individualistic homemakers who have D Building big commercial buildings
burrowed underground in search of underground can be a way to avoid
tranquillity. disfiguring or threatening a beautiful or
“environmentally sensitive” landscape.
B Most, falling foul of strict building Indeed many of the buildings which
regulations, have been forced to consume most land -such as cinemas,
dismantle their individualistic homes and supermarkets, theatres, warehouses or
return to more conventional lifestyles. libraries -have no need to be on the
But subterranean suburbia, Dutch-style, surface since they do not need windows.
is about to become respectable and
chic. Seven luxury homes cosseted E There are big advantages, too, when it
away inside a high earth-covered noise comes to private homes. A
embankment next to the main Tilburg development of 194 houses which
city road recently went on the market for would take up 14 hectares of land
$296,500 each. The foundations had yet above ground would occupy 2.7
to be dug, but customers queued up to hectares below it, while the number of
buy the unusual part-submerged roads would be halved. Under several
houses, whose back wall consists of a metres of earth, noise is minimal and
grassy mound and whose front is a long insulation is excellent. “We get 40 to 50
glass gallery. enquiries a week,” says Peter
Carpenter, secretary of the British Earth
C The Dutch are not the only would-be Sheltering Association, which builds

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 Reading

similar homes in Britain. "People see this Roberto Olivetti in 1969, it comprises
as a way of building for the future." An 82 one-bedroomed apartments and
underground dweller himself, Carpenter 12 maisonettes and forms a house/
has never paid a heating bill, thanks to hotel for Olivetti employees. It is built
solar panels and natural insulation. into a hill and little can be seen from
outside except a glass facade. Patnzia
F In Europe the obstacle has been Vallecchi, a resident since 1992, says
conservative local authorities and it is little different from living in a
developers who prefer to ensure quick conventional apartment.
sales with conventional mass produced
housing. But the Dutch development H Not everyone adapts so well, and in
was greeted with undisguised relief by Japan scientists at the Shimizu
South Limburg planners because of Corporation have developed "space
Holland's chronic shortage of land. It creation" systems which mix light,
was the Tilburg architect Jo Hurkmans sounds, breezes and scents to
who hit on the idea of making use of stimulate people who spend long
noise embankments on main roads. His periods below ground. Underground
two- floored, four-bedroomed, two- offices in Japan are being equipped
bathroomed detached homes are now with "virtual" windows and mirrors,
taking shape. "They are not so much while underground departments in
below the earth as in it," he says. "All the the University of Minnesota have
light will come through the glass front, periscopes to reflect views and light.
which runs from the second floor ceiling
to the ground. Areas which do not need I But Frank Siegmund and his family love
much natural lighting are at the back. their hobbit lifestyle. Their home
The living accommodation is to the front evolved when he dug a cool room for
so nobody notices that the back is dark." his bakery business in a hill he had
created. During a heatwave they took
G In the US, where energy-efficient homes to sleeping there. "We felt at peace
became popular after the oil crisis of and so close to nature," he says.
1973, 10,000 underground houses have "Gradually I began adding to the
been built. A terrace of five homes, rooms. It sounds strange but we are
Britain's first subterranean development, so close to the earth we draw strength
is under way in Nottinghamshire. Italy's from its vibrations. Our children love
outstanding example of subterranean it; not every child can boast of being
architecture is the Olivetti residential watched through their playroom
centre in Ivrea. Commissioned by windows by rabbits.

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Practice Test
3
Questions 13-20

Reading Passage 2 has nine 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 13
20 on your answer sheet. Paragraph A has been done for you as an example.
NB There are more headings than paragraphs so you will not use all of them.

List of Headings
i A designer describes his houses
ii Most people prefer conventional housing
iii Simulating a natural environment
iv How an underground family home developed
v Demands on space and energy are reduced
vi The plans for future homes
vii Worldwide examples of underground living accommodation
viii Some buildings do not require natural light
ix Developing underground services around the world
x Underground living improves health
xi Homes sold before completion
xii An underground home is discovered

Example Answer
Paragraph A xii

13 Paragraph B
14 Paragraph C
15 Paragraph D
16 Paragraph E
17 Paragraph F
18 Paragraph G
19 Paragraph H
20 Paragraph I

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 Reading

Questions 21-26

Complete the sentences below with words taken from the reading passage. Use NO MORE
THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 21-26 on your answer
sheet.
21 Many developers prefer mass-produced houses because they ...
22 The Dutch development was welcomed by ...
23 Hurkmans’ houses are built into ...
24 The Ivrea centre was developed for ...
25 Japanese scientists are helping people ... underground life.
26 Frank Siegmund’s first underground room was used for ...

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 Practice Test
3
READING PASSAGE 3

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-38 which are based on Reading Passage 3
below.

A Workaholic Economy
FOR THE first century or so of the increased production has been almost
industrial revolution, increased entirel} decoupled from employment.
productivity led to decreases in Some firms are even downsizing as
working hours. Employees who had their profits climb. “All things being
been putting in 12-hour days, six days a equal, we”d be better off spreading
week, found their time on the job around the work,’ observes labour
shrinking to 10 hours daily, then, economist Ronald G. Ehrenberg of
finally, to eight hours, five days a week. Cornell University.
Only a generation ago social planners
Yet a host of factors pushes employers
worried about what people would do
to hire fewer workers for more hours
with all this new-found free time. In the
and, at the same time, compels
US, at least, it seems they need not
workers to spend more time on the job.
have bothered.
Most of those incentives involve what
Although the output per hour of work Ehrenberg calls the structure of
has more than doubled since 1945, compensation: quirks in the way
leisure seems reserved largely for salaries and benefits are organised
the unemployed and underemployed. that make it more profitable to ask 40
Those who work full-time spend as employees to labour an extra hour each
much time on the job as they did at the than to hire one more worker to do the
end of World War II. In fact, working same 40-hour job.
hours have increased noticeably since
Professional and managerial employees
1970 — perhaps because real wages
supply the most obvious lesson along
have stagnated since that year.
these lines. Once people are on salary,
Bookstores now abound with manuals
their cost to a firm is the same whether
describing how to manage time and
they spend 35 hours a week in the
cope with stress.
office or 70. Diminishing returns
There are several reasons for lost may eventually set in as
leisure. Since 1979, companies have overworked employees lose
responded to improvements in the efficiency or leave for more arable
business climate by having employees pastures. But in the short run, the
work overtime rather than by hiring extra employer’s incentive is clear.
personnel, says economist Juliet B. Even hourly employees receive benefits -
Schor of Harvard University. Indeed, such as pension contributions and
the current economic recovery has medical insurance - that are not tied to the
gained a certain amount of notoriety number of hours they work. Therefore, it
for its “jobless” nature: is more
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 Reading

Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 1994 by Scientific American, Inc. All rights reserved.

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 Writin
g

profitable for employers to work their crises take people away from the
existing employees harder. workplace.’ Positive experiences with
For all that employees complain about reduced hours have begun to change
long hours, they, too, have reasons not the more-is-better culture at some
to trade money for leisure. “People companies, Schor reports.
who work reduced hours pay a huge Larger firms, in particular, appear to
penalty in career terms,” Schor be more willing to experiment with
maintains. “It”s taken as a negative flexible working arrangements...
signal’ about their commitment to the
firm.’ [Lotte] Bailyn [of It may take even more than changes in
Massachusetts Institute of the financial and cultural structures of
Technology] adds that many corporate employment for workers successfully to
managers find it difficult to measure trade increased productivity and money
the contribution of their underlings to a for leisure time, Schor contends. She
firm’s well-being, so they use the says the U.S. market for goods has
number of hours worked as a proxy for become skewed by the assumption of
output. “Employees know this,” she full-time, two-career households.
says, and they adjust their behavior Automobile makers no longer
accordingly. manufacture cheap models, and
developers do not build the tiny
“Although the image of the good bungalows that served the first
worker is the one whose life belongs to postwar generation of home buyers.
the company,” Bailyn says, “it doesn”t Not even the humblest household
fit the facts.’ She cites both quantitative object is made without a
and qualitative studies that show increased
microprocessor. As Schor notes, the
productivity for part-time workers: they
make better use of the time they have, and situation is a curious inversion of the
they are less likely to succumb to fatigue “appropriate technology” vision that
in stressful jobs. Companies that employ designers have had for developing
more workers for less time also gain from countries: U.S. goods are appropriate
the resulting redundancy, she asserts. “The only for high incomes and long hours.
extra people can cover the contingencies Paul Walluh
that you know are going to happen,
such as when

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Practice Test
3
Questions 27-32

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3? In
boxes 27-32 write
YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer
NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

Example Answer
During the industrial revolution people worked harder. NOT GIVEN

27 Today, employees are facing a reduction in working hours.

28 Social planners have been consulted about US employment figures.
29 Salaries have not risen significantly since the 1970s.
30 The economic recovery created more jobs.
31 Bailyn’s research shows that part-time employees work more efficiently.
32 Increased leisure time would benefit two-career households.

Questions 33-34

Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 33 and 34 on your answer sheet.
33 Bailyn argues that it is better for a company to employ more workers because
A it is easy to make excess staff redundant.
B crises occur if you are under-staffed.
C people are available to substitute for absent staff.
D they can project a positive image at work.
34 Schor thinks it will be difficult for workers in the US to reduce their working hours
because
A they would not be able to afford cars or homes.
B employers are offering high incomes for long hours.
C the future is dependent on technological advances.
D they do not wish to return to the humble post-war era.

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 Reading

Questions 35-38

The writer mentions a number of factors that have resulted, in employees working longer hours.
Which FOUR of the following factors are mentioned? Write your answers (A-H) in boxes
35-38 on your answer sheet.

List of Factors
A Books are available to help employees cope with stress.
B Extra work is offered to existing employees.
C Increased production has led to joblessness.
D Benefits and hours spent on the job are not linked.
E Overworked employees require longer to do their work.
F Longer hours indicate greater commitment to the firm.
G Managers estimate staff productivity in terms of hours worked.
H Employees value a career more than a family.

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