Reading passage 1

A. My lovely wife Cassandra Made me strip naked as soon as I walked in the door upon returning from my last business trip, and it was not to have sex. It was to wash my clothes to rid them of any possible bedbugs. This, I thought, was proof that the bedbugs had won. And that I needed to start working out more. B. We were once a nation deathly afraid of statistically improbable but powerful things: witches, communism, Mexicans taking our jobs. Now we are freaked out about bedbugs, 4-mm-long insects that previous generations made up cute rhymes about. In August, 20% of Americans said they changed their plans to go to a public place for fear of bedbug infestations, even though only 9% knew someonethemselves included who had been infested. And though there are no statistics on this yet, from what I gather on the Internet, it sure seems more Americans are having hotel sex standing up. C. Cassandra has no reason to think we are in danger of harbouring bedbugs. But in addition to the forced showers after travelling, she once made us switch hotel rooms after finding a mosquito bite on her leg one morning. We have little plastic plates of talcum powder under the feet of our bed, and we put every vaguely bug-shaped piece of lint we find into a plastic container that we will show to the first unlucky person we meet at a party who makes the mistake of telling us he's an entomologist. We've moved the bed away from the wall in a manner that makes reading significantly more dangerous than getting bitten by a bedbug. And Cassandra has been trying to find a way to trick my father and his wifewho are not only traveling from New York City, the international capital of bedbugs, but also staying at two hotels before visiting usinto being hosed down with boiling water before entering our home. When I got a disturbing rash recently, she said, "I hope to God you have shingles." D. The worst thing about bedbug hysteria is that it spreads as quickly as bedbugs themselves. The night after we switched hotel rooms, I barely slept, scratching phantom itches every few minutes. When Cassandra explained the seriousness of the bedbug problem to my mom, who does not worry about muchlike whether there is a three-hour time difference before she calls me at 6 a.m. on the West Coastthe conversation ended with my mother saying, "What is the government doing about this?" This column is taking me two times longer to write than usual because I cannot stop scratching. E. Bedbugs aren't harmful. Unlike mosquitoes, rodents and, as we've learned, 1-year-olds, they don't carry disease. When I mentioned this to Cassandra, she looked at me with what I imagine is the cold, hard stare of a bedbug about to reproduce through traumatic insemination. "They're like pure evil," she said. "They're impossible to kill. I used to worry, living

in Southern California, that there would be a tarantula or a rattlesnake in our house. Now I'm like, big dealyou catch it and you throw it outside." I started to try to talk sense into her, but Cassandra said, "Speaking of bedbugs, maybe we should check the traps in the guest room." F. Bedbugs scare us so much because, unlike mosquitoes, chiggers, fleas, lice, ticksI'll stop nowthey hide in your house. And we believe our homes are fortresses, even though anyone who has ever patched their floors with 2-by-4s knows that the difference between inside and outside is largely semantic. Despite all our technology, we are still at the whim of nature. We still get bedbugs, only now we can tweet about them. G. It's a special weakness of our rich country to believe that we can barricade ourselves into safetythat if we just increase airport security, extremists can't attack us; that gated communities keep predators away from our kids; that with constant vigilance, we can keep bedbugs out. When I was 9, I saw a segment of That's Incredible! about how mites live in our eyebrows and how hot showers only cause them to reproduce more. And while I've spent 30 years thinking about eyebrow mites whenever I turn up the heat in the shower, what I should really be upset about is that my parents let me watch crap like That's Incredible! But that episode did teach me that hypervigilance is weakness. That the greatest control comes from deciding not to control. And that even Fran Tarkenton had really lame career options after retiring from professional sports.So we can live in fear of bedbugs and not travel, go to our friends' parties or have visitors stay over. All the things that Cassandra hates to do anyway. I think I may have married a genius.

Questions You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1 to 14 which are based on Reading Passage 1 Questions 1 to 7 Reading Passage 1 has seven paragraphs A G. From the list of headings below, choose the most suitable heading for each paragraph. Write the appropriate numbers I ix in boxes 1 7 on your answer sheet. i. The washing of bedbugs. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. The latest Newsweek poll. The bedbug hysteria. The fear of bedbugs. The protection from bedbugs. Bedbugs aren't harmful. The barricade into safety. The nightmare. Bedbugs scaring.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph

A B C D E F G

Questions 8 10 Choose the correct letters, A, B, C or D Write your answers in boxes 8 10 on your answer sheet. 8 The worst thing about bedbug hysteria is that A. B. C. D. 9 A. B. C. D. 10 A. B. C. D. It It It It spreads as quickly as bedbugs themselves. is invisible. is poisonous. kills human beings.

Unlike mosquitoes, rodents and, as we've learned, 1-year-olds, They They They They dont spread malaria. dont sting. don't carry disease. dont dwell in houses.

Cassandra has no reason to think we are in danger of harbouring Mosquitoes. Bedbugs. House flies. Rats.

Questions 11 14 Complete each of the following statements (questions 11 14) with the best endings A G from the box below Write the appropriate letters A G in boxes 11 14 on your answer sheet. 11 We believe 12 If we just increase airport security, 13 It was to wash my clothes to rid them of 14 Cassandra has been trying to find a way to trick

A Any possible bedbugs. B Her friends. C Theyve given a lot of importance. D Our homes are fortresses. E Extremists can't attack us. F My father and his wife. Reading passage 2 A. Neurotransmitters are not the only way an individuals genetic make-up is translated into action. Hormones also play a part. For example, oxytocin, which is secreted by part of the brain called the hypothalamus, has been shown to promote trusta crucial factor in all manner of business dealings. The stress hormone cortisol, meanwhile, affects the assessment of the time value of money. B. That, at least, was the conclusion of a study by Taiki Takahashi of Hokkaido University in Japan. After taking saliva samples from 18 volunteers, Dr Takahashi asked them what minimum amount of money they would accept in a years time in order to forgo an immediate payout of 10,000 (around $90 at the time). He found those with a lower base level of the hormone tended to prefer immediate payment, even when the sum in question was piffling compared with the promised future compensation. C. Then there is testosterone, the principal male sex hormone (though women make it too). The literature on this hormones behavioural effects is vast. High levels of the stuff have been correlated with risk tolerance, creativity and the creation of new ventures. But testosterone is principally about dominance and hierarchy. This is where Dr Zyphurs mouth swabs come in. D. When Dr Zyphur (who is now at the University of Melbourne) was at the NUS, he led a study of how testosterone is related to status and collective effectiveness in groups. He and his colleagues examined levels of the hormone in 92 mixed-sex groups of about half a dozen individuals. Surprisingly, a group members testosterone level did not predict his or her status within the group. What the researchers did discover, though, is that the greater the mismatch between testosterone and status, the less effectively a groups members co-operate. In a corporate setting that lower productivity translates into lower income.

E. Testosterone crops up in another part of the business equation, too: sales. It appears, for instance, to be a by-product of conspicuous consumption. In an oft-cited study Gad Saad and John Vongas of Concordia University in Montreal found that mens testosterone levels responded precisely to changes in how they perceived their status. Testosterone shot up, for example, when they got behind the wheel of a sexy sports car and fell when they were made to drive a clunky family saloon car. The researchers also reported that when a mans status was threatened in the presence of a female by a display of wealth by a male acquaintance, his testosterone levels surged. F. As Dr Saad and Dr Vongas point out, a better understanding of this mechanism could help explain many aspects both of marketing and of who makes a successful salesman. Car salesmen, for example, are stereotypically male and aggressive, which tends to indicate high levels of testosterone. Whether that is really the right approach with male customers is, in light of this research, a moot point. Results such as these are preliminary. But they do offer the possibility of turning aspects of management science into a real scienceand an applied science, to boot. Decisions based on an accurate picture of human nature have a better chance of succeeding than those that are not. For instance, if job satisfaction and leadership turn out to have large genetic components, greater emphasis might be placed on selection than on training. G. Not everyone is convinced. One quibble is that many investigations of genetics and behaviour have relied on participants retrospective reports of their earlier psychological states, which are often inaccurate. This concern, however, is being allayed with the advent of techniques such as Dr Songs mobile-sampling method. Another worry is that, despite the fact that most twin studies have been extensively replicated, they may be subject to systematic flaws. If parents exhibit a tendency to treat identical twins more similarly than fraternal ones, for instance, then what researchers see as genetic factors could turn out to be environmental ones. Source: Wikipedia.com Questions You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15 27 which are based on Reading Passage 2 Questions 15 19 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2? In boxes 15 -19 in your answer sheet write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

15. Oxytocin has been shown to promote trust. 16. Car salesmen are stereotypically male and aggressive. 17. Hormones play a definitive role in forming ones nature. 18. Parenting is a crucial factor in a childs life. 19. The greater the mismatch between testosterone and status, the less effectively a groups members co-operate.

Question 20 23 Look at the following persons (questions 20 23) and the list of statements below. Match each person to the correct statement. Write the correct letter A F in boxes 1 4 on your answer sheet. 20. Gad Saad 21. John Vongas 22. Taiki Takahashi 23. Dr Zyphur A Hokkaido University in Japan. B Those with a lower base level of the hormone tended to prefer immediate payment. C A better understanding of this mechanism could help explain many aspects. D Mouth swabs. E The University of Melbourne. Questions 24 27 Complete the following statements with the correct alternative from the box. Write the correct letter A F in boxes 24 27 on your answer sheet. 24. 25. 26. 27. The right approach with male customers is, in light of this research, Most twin studies have been Testosterone crops up in another part of the business equation, too: In a corporate setting that lower productivity

A Translates into lower income. B A moot point. C Would probably ensure their salary. D Extensively replicated. E Management.

Reading Passage 3 A. Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, today took the highly unusual step of attacking the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies, describing its methods of measuring the fairness of the coalition's controversial spending review as "distorted and a complete nonsense". The Liberal Democrat leader also contradicted IFS claims that the spending review would see cuts in spending in classrooms by insisting the coalition had provided a cash increase per pupil for every schoolchild, and had added on top a pupil premium for deprived children worth 2.5bn. He described the premium as one of the biggest engines for long-term fairness. B. In an interview with the Guardian Clegg also admitted that the government had not yet won the argument on why it is cutting the deficit at this pace, saying "we have more work to do". He also distanced himself from Conservative backbenchers who cheered and waved their order papers at the end of George Osborne's statement on Wednesday cutting public spending by 81bn. "I don't think this is something to be triumphalist about ... this is a very serious task that we do not relish. This is not something I would get bunting out for. This is a really serious time." C. Clegg said the work by the IFS took no proper account of public spending inputs, or the potential for some spending, such as the pupil premium, to improve social mobility. "I think you have to call a spade a spade. We just fundamentally disagree with the IFS. It goes back to a culture of how you measure fairness that took root under Gordon Brown's time, where fairness was seen through one prism and one prism only which was the tax and benefits system. It is a complete nonsense to apply that measure, which is a slightly desiccated Treasury measure. People do not live only on the basis of the benefits they receive. They also depend on public services, such as childcare and social care. All of those things have been airbrushed out of the picture by the IFS." D. He said "the richest are paying the most", and, in a reference to Labour, added: "Those who say otherwise are not being very straight with people and frankly they are frightening people." Clegg argued that the Treasury had tried to provide more than a snapshot of tax and benefits, and instead give a richer picture including the interaction between taxes and benefits cuts, public service cuts and public service gains. "We are also trying to shift the debate bit by bit by asking fundamental questions about fairness from one generation to the next." E. He admitted he had struggled with himself throughout the spending review. But he insisted "shrill allegations" that the state is going to be decimated did not stand up to scrutiny. "We are going to spend 5% more of national income on the state at the end of this process that Tony Blair and Gordon [Brown] were in 1997. We are going to employ 200,000 more people in the public sector at the end of this process. I think it is a cavalier misrepresentation to claim somehow it is a scorched earth policy." He also admitted that the decision to back a rise in university tuition fees in contrast to his repeated election pledges had been very difficult. "It quite understandably raises questions about promises politicians make. I signed a pledge that I have now not been able to honour." But he said the more he looked at the alternative of the graduate tax, the more impractical it

appeared. He had been very uneasy about the idea contained in Lord Browne's review into university funding of lifting the cap on tuition fees entirely, and was looking at how to keep one. F. Clegg also disclosed that he had insisted the near 3bn cut in university funding in the spending review had not been so tough that it would be impossible to retain a cap. He also promised to prevent the rich being able to repay loans to cover fees more quickly and not face some penalty. "We have got to deal with the point that if you are wealthier you can pay the loan back more quickly and so reduce your costs. I don't think that is right at all." G. He defended plans to cut funding for social housing and introduce a more short- term tenancy, closer to market rents, for social housing. "Registered social landlords tell us that what would be the greatest catalyst for them to build homes is to allow rents for new tenants to drift up to something like 80% of market rents. They say that would give them the guaranteed revenue stream in order to invest to build new homes. People on low pay on those new rents will be compensated in full through housing benefit." Source: The Guardian Questions You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 28 40 which are based on Reading Passage 3. Questions 28 32 The passage has seven paragraphs labelled AG. Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter A-G in boxes 28-32 on your answer sheet. NB: You may use any letter more than once. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. Nick Clegg today took the highly unusual step. The rich should not be allowed to repay the loans quicker to save fees. The state is going to be decimated did not stand up to scrutiny. Clegg is in favour of a restructuring of the whole process. The richest are paying the most.

Questions 33 36 Complete the sentences below with words taken from Reading Passage 3.

Use NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 33-36 on your answer sheet.

33. 34. 35. 36.

We just fundamentally disagree with . He also admitted that the decision to back a rise in university . He admitted he had struggled with himself throughout . We have got to deal with the point that if you are wealthier you can pay the loan back .

Questions 37 40 Complete the summary of the paragraphs A C below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet. The Liberal Democrat leader contradicted IFS claims that the spending review would see cuts 37 .. In an interview with the Guardian Clegg also admitted that the government had not yet 38 .. The work by the IFS took no proper account of 39 .. People do not live only on the basis of the 40 .